A Dangerous Thing To Forget
by Bast13
Summary: It's a Magic Trio 'Bring Your Brother Day' which hasn't ended well. With England and Norway ensnared by strange amulets it is up to Wales, Romania and Iceland to save them and tackle the old Welsh tales out to get them. *T for some violence, mild language and Welsh swearing*
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! :D**

 **Welcome to a more magic themed Hetalia fic! I hope you'll enjoy it but there will be quite a bit of Welsh in it as a warning but I'll try make sure it's understood! :D**

 **And with that,** ** _voilà_!**

* * *

 **Diogelwch (Diog-el-ukh) – Shield me**

* * *

 **England**

The study of the border house I shared with Wales was quite grand for its style. A stone fireplace was unlit in the far corner of the square room with a neat stack of wood on its right mirroring the iron pokers balanced against the wall. The floor was wooden and the small amount of wallpaper visible from behind the mass of oaken bookshelves was dark green. The walls were packed tight with British literature, though the majority were English, and every so often someone would rise to take one of the old books.

Five countries, including myself, sat around a heavy round table. Various lamps from around the room bathed us all in an amber glow but the large ceiling light remained cold while the sun was still up outside the windows.

I usually had a few informal meetings about myths and all with Romania and Norway but today it had been turned into a pseudo 'Bring your brother to work day'. It was Wales' house as well as mine and he was equally interested in magic so the Welshman had decided to come along with me. Iceland was grumbling in the corner chair and trying to look as uninterested as possible as the rest of us talked. He patted down his silver hair like it was a cap he could pull down over his eyes and ignore us even further. Norway had wanted them to have some fun as teachers but so far Iceland hadn't really done anything. It was a shame because beneath their rather icy outer appearances I could tell that Norway and Iceland really cared for each other.

Romania was making a joke about Hamlet to Norway which resulted in the rare occasion of me holding my tongue; the embarrassment of that night was still burnt clearly into my mind. However, I didn't plan on forgetting it entirely. Wales met my eyes and we exchanged brief glances. I opened my mouth but something stole my attention away before I could speak.

The sound was muted from being rooms away but that fact alone made me realise how loud it must have been in the first place. My light smile dropped into a scowl at the person's gall. I _had_ a doorbell.

"England?" Norway inquired with a sideways glance away from Romania.

I stood up and apologised to the guests around the table. "Hope you don't mind if I just get this," I muttered. I left quickly and helped I could make my absence a minimal problem.

I passed through the long living room and opened the door into the hall. I stopped to listen out but the knocking had stopped by then, escalating my annoyance. Yet I still picked up the rustic-shaped key off its place on the small table and unlocked the front door since I felt obligated to at least check whether there was anything to get bothered about.

I had been expecting to see America or some equally annoying face but instead green eyes met nothing but the view outside. I peeked my head out past the threshold and scrutinised the woods surrounding the isolated home. The air was brisker than an average September the sky being completely overcast and grey was nothing out of the ordinary. The gravelly drive wasn't empty but there wasn't anything beyond Wales' small silver car. We hadn't really expected Iceland so the journey from the airport had been tighter than I would have preferred it to be. The younger country hadn't been happy to say the least.

I resigned and made to close the door. My eyes fell automatically to the floor to check I wouldn't catch my feet but then they caught something a bit different. I stopped and stared. There was a small wooden box open and revealing three peculiar items resting on a thin white sheet.

I stooped down to inspect them and raised a thick eyebrow in curiosity. The items seemed to be amulets and even though the back was made from black metal the cord was made from a coarse rope like a wick. Stranger still, the oval base seemed to be made of wax and scratched onto the smooth surface of each pendant was a word I didn't understand. ' _Cannwyll_ '. I didn't recognise it but I felt that I should have. It was faintly familiar.

I had never seen anything like these before but I certainly wasn't an idiot. I rolled my eyes at the nerve of whoever left this 'gift' on my doorstop. I turned my back on them and headed briskly back to the others. I poked my head into the study.

"R-" I paused after finding the Romanian apparently deep in conversion with my brother so it was Norway instead who caught my eye. His arms were folded and he was twisted on his seat as if he'd just finished saying something to his brother.

I tilted my head in the outside's direction. "Would you mind helping for a second?" Despite his expression he didn't object.

I led him to the hall and he noticed the box immediately. Norway brushed his choppy blonde fringe from his face then moved forwards to inspect the 'gifts' with the same scrutinising expression I'd had.

"So, let's just take these with us all willy-nilly, shall we?" I deadpanned, accompanying the sarcasm with a smirk.

" _I'm_ going to get rid of them. Only an idiot would suggest otherwise," Norway said, the hint of a smirk playing in his voice but not quite on his face.

"Ha ha. Let's just do this."

Norway got back onto his feet and stepped away from the chest while I strode forwards, resulting in the two of us standing side-by-side. I took the star-tipped wand from my trouser pocket and Norway raised his hands in preparation.

I glanced at Norway. "I'll close the chest from here but feel free to do as you wish if something goes awry," I instructed. I turned my head so I was concentrating solely on the obviously magically amulets. I brandished my wand at them.

I flicked it in the chest's direction and expected the wooden lid to snap shut immediately but instead there was no reaction whatsoever. I frowned internally but kept my face clear. I felt the magic but couldn't see a result. Something was wrong.

Levitation was one of the simplest spells; I even do it my sleep, not that it didn't cause certain problems when I did, but nothing happened this time. The amulets didn't move from their bed, similarly to anyone waking up on a Monday morning. I tried to make my failure unknown to my friend and I quickly made another attempt. The wand swished curtly through the air but once again I was met with naught. Well, not exactly.

It was more obvious to me now. I felt the magic. I knew I was doing something but it hadn't manifested in the way I'd intended. It was _them_. _Cannwyll_. _Cannwyll_. I repeated that word in my head over and over, frustrated at my failure. I was knowledgeable about all sorts of magic from across the globe but I couldn't place that word. I racked my mental library furiously.

Slightly dishevelled golden hair danced in front of my forest-green eyes as I thought. I paused. I was _indoors_ , yet I definitely felt a wind circling me. I took a footstep back but felt the air continue spiralling around me regardless. I wasn't sure what to do until it suddenly changed.

A gust of sharp energy slammed into me through my heart and a cry burst involuntarily from my lips. My eyes widened at the unexpected fierceness but my horror escalated when the second bought of air daggers made me realise it was just the beginning.

"England!" Norway moved towards me but stopped in indecision. His eyes darted back and forth from me to the box as my body began to shudder under the attacks. The hand still clutching my wand trembled violently but I found it would not unclench. The pain locked up my movements and rendered me helpless to its cruel whims. I gritted my teeth but a barely stifled cry exploded out as another blast sent it flying into the air.

The Norwegian's violet eyes were wide in panic and his expression flashed in thought before narrowing at the strangeness' source. He tore his focus away from me and held his hands out at the amulets, breathing a final calming breath before setting the air around the box on fire. Blue flames so bright they were almost white manifested and waved in the air, bending in retaliation to the circling magic, before Norway thrust his fists at the box. He harnessed the magic tumbling over itself with the colours of the northern lights and hurled it all at the twisted cause.

The fire shot at the box like a hailstorm of arrowheads. Norway's magic tore at the wooden door frame and shredded the carpet with ease. However, through watering eyes I watched the amulets remain on their bed, completely unaffected.

There was a moment when Norway was still and watched the box in an almost expectant way, until the amulets replied.

The explosion of our combined magic previously stored inside the enchanted wax billowed out from the pendants straight towards the two of us. Cerulean and emerald fire enveloped the hall and consumed us, the heat searing and clawing at any exposed skin. However, my mind collapsed before my body did.

* * *

 **Wales**

"And that's why the dragon will _always_ be the best national animal," I concluded proudly.

I had no idea why but Romania was still looking unimpressed even after all my arguments. He crossed his arms and flashed me a smirk. "Not as good as a lynx, Rhys. For one, it's actually native."

"Hey, Dewi is real."

"For you, me, Lukas, and your brothers. He's invisible to the others which means you can't even show him off and I think _that's_ the real point." Romania leant back in his chair. "But it's better than a unicorn, I'll give you that."

I chuckled softly. Scotland was never going to hear the end of that.

Romania turned to Iceland in the corner. "And you, Emil? Are you going to put any defence?"

Iceland averted his violet eyes from the Romanian's red poutily. "I don't want to join in this stupid debate. _And the gyrfalcon's obviously better anyway_ ," he muttered afterwards and I smiled sneakily at his response.

"I wonder what Arthur was up to. Do you think it was just a cold caller?" Romania wondered.

"Probably not. Arthur doesn't bother with people like that, and it's a pretty isolated house."

Iceland rolled his eyes with an audible sigh. "I just hope they get back soon. Lukas is my ride home." He paused for a moment. "And what _are_ they doi..."

There was a scream. It was softened by the rooms between its source and us but loud enough for none of us to miss it. I shot out of my seat and my eyes darted to the wall. "Who was that?!"

Romania furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm not sure..."

There was another, even louder scream and it removed any doubt the three of us still had. We all scrambled to exit the study and sprinted through the lounge but I stopped dead in tracks, my eyes startlingly wide.

I threw myself between the other countries and what I saw, acting entirely on instinct as I did so since all my reasoning had been replaced with pure panic. I braced and clenched my eyes shut from the harsh unearthly flames incoming.

The jade-sapphire fire exploded out of the hall and blasted me off my feet. Romania yelped as I crashed back into him and a polite apology sparked in my brain but I had no time to voice it. I opened an uneasy eye after not feeling any of the impact I'd been preparing for.

I watched in shock as the fire whipped away from me. It halted and withdrew like someone retracting a hand. I stared at it incredulously as the walls and floors were revealed to be undamaged. I wondered briefly whether it was just an illusion but when I stepped forwards I was confronting a massive block of heat.

"Urgh." As a Welshman I was _not_ good with heat. Dewi was usually good enough to avoid setting me on fire so it wasn't usually a problem I had to deal with. Iceland then pushed past me, blinking to get used to the drastic change in brightness but looking unaffected by the aftermath of the fire.

Romania and I managed to follow him, albeit with a lot of difficulty, and we found ourselves in a surprisingly normal-looking hall. There were the two exceptions though.

I gasped with my eyes locked on the two blondes standing like statues in the centre. England and Norway's expressions were blank like they were in shock with strange stones hanging from the rough cords around their necks.

I took a step forward, my movements slow in apprehension. "England..?"

The two of them turned to the sound of my voice like magnets to metal. I wanted to back away from their blank eyes but stayed where I was in hope of helping them.

"Arthur? Lukas? What's going on?" I asked.

They didn't respond _verbally_. England held out his wand like a knight brandishing his sword and green light sparked from his eyes and amulet. My face fell and I automatically yelled the first word that came to my mind.

" _Diogelwch_!" The spell expanded out and England's own magic twisted to obey my command. The stream forked out like a river and circled around me, creating a shield just as I'd wanted.

"Wales!" Iceland warned but it was too late by that point. England's magic I could affect. Norway's I could not.

* * *

 **It would not be the opening chapter to one of my fics if I left you with a warm and fuzzy feeling inside, would it? ;)**

 **I hope you enjoyed it and I would _love_ if you reviewed, favourited or followed and told me if you liked it or not! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**You guys are lucky since I'm on holiday now! I hope I can update frequently but more so that you enjoy this! :D**

* * *

 **Daro – Damn * Tylwyth Teg (Tulwith Teg) – Fair Family/Welsh Fairies * Diolch yn fawr (Diolk un vawur) – Thank you very much**

* * *

 **Wales**

I woke up groaning. I rubbed my eyes and stretched my arms to find that they were aching. I was confused for the moment I still thought I was in my bedroom but then I remembered.

"Romania?" I called out, pushing myself into the sitting-up position.

The European nation grumbled in return.

"Where's Lukas?" Iceland rolled over on the carpet drowsily. "I'm going to punch him in the face." He winced. "Ow. I think he beat me to it."

"Wait. Oh crap." I stumbled back to my feet and glanced around with my thick eyebrows pulled into an emphasised frown. "Where are they? Where's England and Norway?" I bent down and helped Romania to his feet.

"Gone. It looks like they left after _beating us up_."

"Yeah…" I didn't really want to agree with that but it was hard to ignore the truth.

The floor was littered with books thrown off the small bookshelf. The majority of the strewn covers were old cricket and rugby books owned by England and me respectively. Just like I'd seen before, nothing was burnt but the air was still hot. I narrowed my eyes. There was a small wooden box in the doorway and inside it was a single amulet: one of the ones I'd seen England and Norway wearing just before...

" _Daro_." I scratched my head as I thought. "Iceland, could you go get one of the pokers from the office for me? You know, the iron ones."

Thankfully he didn't bother to make a fuss about it. Iceland ran off while Romania and I stared at the amulets, trying to inspect them from a safe difference.

"Do you have any ideas what made the two of them go crazy?" Romania wondered.

"A few," I admitted. "Though once Iceland comes back I'll probably have a better one."

"Here," Iceland announced. He handed the black metal over grumpily and poked me in the arm.

"Ta." I walked closer to the chest. I pointed the iron stick at the pendant but it just sat there idly. I stepped further still and whacked the wax surface experimentally with the metal. It sank into the grey easily and stayed there anticlimactically.

Romania and Iceland shot me odd looks. "What's supposed to happen here?" asked Romania.

I shrugged honestly. "Pretty much this. It didn't explode, right?" I hooked the poker under the amulet's cord and lifted it into the air for a better look. I was hesitant after seeing what had happened to England but then I dropped it into my open hand. Again, nothing spectacular happened.

The two other countries looked at the amulet over my shoulder. "How are your theories coming on, Rhys?"

I turned to face them again and held the pendant up for the two of them to see. "Well, it doesn't respond to magic anymore, which means that the iron affected it. Which means it's British magic."

Iceland stuffed his hands into his pockets. "It's your fault, then?"

" _British_ ," I stressed. "That doesn't automatically make it mine."

"What about the word then? What language is it in?"

I frowned and inspected the wax surface again. The engraving was smudged after being dented by the poker but there was a word where I hadn't noticed it before. I squinted at it and tried to make out the letters. I felt my cheeks burn at my mistake, something I could hope the others would miss but...

"Don't know? Well, we can all thank Mr. Iron Poker for that, can't we?" Romania joked.

My pale face reddened even further, and it wasn't the heat. "Sorry." I rolled it over in my hand. "But I can kinda make something out. C-A-N-N-W-Y...Oh no."

"What? What is it?" Romania took the amulet from my hands and inspected the writing himself. "C-Canwil? Canwul? What does that mean?"

I swallowed nervously. "It means that it's mine. My magic, at least." My eyes widened and lit up with recognition. I beamed. "But now I think I know who kidnapped them: the Tylwyth Teg!"

"Tulwith teg?" Iceland repeated with a mixture of confusion and mild annoyance.

"The Welsh fairies, right?" Romania looked to me for confirmation and I nodded. My expression was blank, momentarily taken with thought, but then it brightened again.

"And I know just where to find them! Follow me guys." Romania pocketed the amulet and rushed out of the door by my side. Iceland was walking along behind, pretending he wasn't doing so of his own volition, but he still hung around a bit before starting to walk.

I kicked the chest away and hurried over to the car parked just outside. Romania smirked at the sight. "Let me get this straight. On a quest to save England _and_ Norway from a bunch of fairies, we're going via the motorway in your little Peugeot?"

"How else would we get across Wales? I've always preferred cars to broomsticks in any case, but feel free. I think Arthur always keeps one in the cellar."

"Let's just go," Iceland grumbled. He approached the car but stopped when he noticed Romania standing next to the front seat door. Iceland slouched.

"Fine. I didn't want to sit there anyway," he pouted.

Romania rolled his eyes, threw the passenger seat door open and threw himself into the back. "It's all yours, Emil."

Iceland looked hesitant but Romania shot him a glance that made the younger country relent. I smiled encouragingly and quickly locked the front door as my mental map worked furiously. I had an idea of where to find the Tylwyth Teg and with two other countries helping me England and Norway would be saved in no time.

What had happened with them had been scary, I still didn't understand what went on, but I returned to the car with an odd sense of confidence. I envied England with his co-operative fairies but I wasn't a stranger to mine and they were not strangers to me so there was no reason to doubt any of our abilities to rescue them.

I fished the car keys out of my pockets and started the car. "Seatbelts," I reminded Romania and Iceland before driving off.

* * *

 **Romania**

"Are we there yet?" Iceland asked Wales. The right side of his silver hair was completely flat after spending so much time leaning his head against the cold glass. The car was still and Wales was waiting patiently for the traffic to start moving again.

I rested my chin on my hand and watched the other cars trudge past us, amusing myself with the fact that none of the drivers passing us, even those whose eyes glimpsed towards me, knew what kind of people they were moving past. An Icelander, a Romanian and Welshman in a car looking for fairies. It sounded like the setup of a joke.

"Nope. We have to find a field first," Wales replied in a calm voice.

"I think we've passed a ton already."

"But I can't just run straight off the motorway; we need to find a turning first." I watched the Welshman's face and smirked. His expression and tone seemed like it was used often, but after seeing how his family acted it wouldn't surprise me on bit.

We passed at least another mile of nothing interesting in sight.

"What _were_ those amulets doing to them?" Iceland broke the comfortable silence the three of us had been holding for the past few minutes. His purple irises were avoiding the other countries' as he spoke and when he did I noticed it was quieter than the tone he'd been using before.

Wales glanced away from the road and towards the apparent teenager before returning out of safety. His eyes radiated his concern through the windscreen and back onto the tarmac. "I know what I said, but I have to admit that I'm not absolutely sure. I don't think the amulets were trying to, like, _hurt_ them but it was definitely doing something. Maybe…Maybe the amulets had the power to control, or even _steal,_ their magic instead."

I closed my hand around the pendant in my pocket. Wales said it didn't have any power anymore but what he said was pretty worrying.

"And now they're gone," Iceland finished gloomily.

I leant forwards in my seat against the seatbelt. "Don't worry about it. Artie and Luke aren't going to be gone for long. _We're_ on the case after all. Plus, I think after a while, whichever fairytale kidnapped them will just hand them back to us."

Wales smiled in approval of my comments. "Yeah. I think soon they'll be posted back to us after they finally get sick of Arthur, though I expect Lukas will be sensible enough to reel him in if my brother _really_ starts annoying them. So don't worry."

"Just imagine Lukas and Arthur surrounded by fairies and unicorns," I advised and I saw a small smile grace the Icelander's face. I smiled as well and we returned to the comforting silence, but this time I was more aware of the other countries sharing the journey. I could tell they were both worried about the brothers but now especially I knew they weren't scared.

Cars, lorries and the odd motorcycle sped past while Wales drove us past, looking for a field or even just a turnoff on the way. I expected what he wanted was slightly more specific than that but I was going off what he'd told me.

"Rhys, there you go." I pointed to one of the road signs indicating a way off and Wales exhaled in relief, thankful for the break in the long path of nothingness.

" _Diolch yn fawr_ ," and he turned off the dual carriageway. Maybe it was because I was so used to talking with England, who was polite enough but had the mouth of a true sailor and a hair-trigger temper, but I was always so surprised whenever Wales acted _patient_ with others. But then again I'd seen him play rugby.

The weather was typical for Wales: grey. When Wales pulled over into a seemingly random field the air itself was painted with dull colours which affected the grass and the thin stretching river. Maybe it would have been a plain for grazing animals but for the time being it was devoid of anything except for the newcomers, also known as the three of us.

"What are we looking for?" I questioned as Wales led me and the Icelander through the field. "And isn't this trespassing?"

Wales caught my playful smile and returned it. He brushed brown hair out of his face and chuckled. "Anyway, we're looking for a forest around here. Hopefully one should be around here."

"Yup." I laid my eyes on the straight border starting the woods that led up the hill and into a mass thicket of trees. The cloud-covered sun left very little sunlight so once inside I suspected it would be very dark and probably quite ominous and considering we were after a bunch of magical kidnappers it could be dangerous as well. I grinned. That was what made it fun. With three countries on the case there was little that could stop us.

Continuing that train of thought, my red eyes flickered to the left and right. Wales, Iceland and Romania. That was a trio you didn't see every day. This was going to be interesting at the very least.

* * *

 **And so the adventure begins. Let's go beat up some fairies!**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I would _love_ if you reviewed, favourited or followed and told me if you liked it or not! :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**Cachu (Cah-khee) – S_ * La Naiba – Damn (Romanian) * Cymry (Kumree) – Broad name for the Welsh People * Rwmania (Roumania) – Romania * Brawd Lloegr (Brawd Shloigur) – Brother of England**

* * *

 **Romania**

The forest was _exactly_ as I'd expected. Looming trees cast long shadows down onto the mossy undergrowth and every so often we'd have to climb one to face a long patch of mud. It was ominous but cool as well. The odd flower poked its head out of the grass and waved in the breeze like a friend.

Iceland waved the torch on his phone about, keeping an eye out for anything strange while still insisting he didn't believe in or see them. The three of us shone light into the darkness. Wales and Iceland used technology but I just conjured a small fire that danced around in my palm. All us of kept our eyes out yet none of us had actually seen anything out of the ordinary.

"What is the Tylwyth Teg like anyway, Rhys?" I asked, always curious about other countries' mythology. We were continuing through the woods and there wasn't much else to do except talk anyway.

Wales glanced up in thought, pondering over what to say. His expression didn't look too happy as his mind turned to his fairies. "They're...righteous, you could say. They hate liars more than anything so I wouldn't recommend doing that in their presence; I'm not going to have either of you disappear for a hundred years."

"But I thought you said they like playing tricks on people," I recalled.

"That's pretty much the point. They think they're above it. Another thing about them is that they can _really_ hold a grudge. That's what I meant about 'disappearing for a hundred years'. That's hard enough on a regular person but I think it would be chaos if one of you two went missing. If we don't do anything to offend them then there'll be no need for vengeance."

"Then what could Lukas and Arthur possibly have done to piss off some of _your_ fairies?" Iceland wondered, kicking a random branch to the side. He looked tense and his violet eyes were watchful. Something that could kidnap his brother was something to definitely be scared of.

Wales knitted his eyebrows, irritated at yet another question he had no answer for. I nudged him cheerily, trying to lift his spirits somewhat.

"With all the time Arthur's been your neighbour, who knows what? Maybe he stumbled into Fairyland when drunk," I chortled, my many memories of the drunk Englishman bringing a large grin to my face.

"Oh." Wales' expression fell in realisation. He rubbed in face, exasperated. "Crud."

"Rhys?" I raised an eyebrow at the Brit. It never looked as good as when one of them did it to me but I was glad all the same that I wasn't cursed with the same eyebrows as all of them.

"England, and Norway," he said simply as if that had been all the explanation needed.

"So?" Iceland prodded.

"Two 'invaders'. Vikings, Normans, Saxons. Describe them as you wish. I think I get them now."

Iceland scoffed. "That was centuries ago. They've probably been the jerks they are now for longer than they were _them_. These fairies are your age, right? If they wanted 'revenge' after _so_ long then they must have no life," he smirked.

Instead of lighting up as the two of us had suspected, Wales' expression turned strange. His mouth opened but he was quiet for a few moments, debating on whether to say anything or not. Iceland and I didn't speak in anticipation, waiting for the time he finally said, "They were lost for a long time."

Wales shepherded us onwards, leaving any chatting up to me and the younger nation. We were tripped up a few times by the uneven ground but naturally Wales never seemed bothered. The ambience of birdcalls and whispering leaves shaken by the breeze filled the otherwise empty air. There was a rushing river somewhere in the distance too but it was easily mixed up with the trees.

By that point we were trudging up a small hill and I was surprised by the size of the forest. It felt like we'd been walking for much longer than the distance of a small woods. My red eyes were wandering out of minute boredom until they landed on a white tuft caught in a forked branch reaching out of the dirt.

I spoke to the young country walking behind me. "It's funny. I haven't seen any animals but there must be a ton of sheep nearby."

There was no response. I glanced back. "Hey, Em..." I stopped in my tracks. "Rhys. Rhys?"

"Hmm?"

"Emil's gone."

He skidded to a halt and his eyes joined mine in darting about the forest, searching into the darkness like floodlights in an attempt to find the silver-haired Icelander. He looked around but not even his phone's torch was visible.

" _Cachu_. Emil! Emil!" he shouted but no-one called back.

"Iceland!" I yelled. Wales and I shut up briefly to listen out for Iceland yet it was all in vain. " _La naiba_ ," I swore. "Come on, Iceland! Come out or I'll send one of these your way!"

I flicked my hand and a ball of fire appeared there but Wales reached out and grabbed my wrist, shutting off the flickering light.

"I was only joking," I protested but by looking at Wales' face I realised that wasn't what he'd been focusing on. He told me to come with him but didn't give me much choice as he starting tugging me away, sprinting through the forest and pulling me along as he did so. I stumbled a few times but quickly adapted to running by his side.

Wales led me past countless trees and many clearings without a single word of explanation. His face was set and his strength was surprising, enough that I couldn't easily escape his grip. I'd made a joke about him in sports before but it genuinely shocked me how strong he actually was for someone so…unnoticed.

"Rhys!" I called, starting to get frustrated at his silence. "Where are you taking me!?"

In the rapidly closing in distance there was an abnormally thick oak. It branched out vastly and cast a massive shadow over all the other smaller trees. Its roots swam through the earth like snakes and its bark was rough and weathered by time similarly to a seaside cliff. The great tree took up more and more of my sight as I ran closer and closer.

I stopped and pulled my arm back so Wales followed suit. "Wales! What the heck are you doing!?" I demanded and Wales blinked as if he'd only just then realised what he was doing.

His skin blossomed with red and he looked away sheepishly. "S-Sorry, but we really need to get going."

"Into a freaking tree?!"

"Oh. Yeah. Right…" He met my eyes. "Trust me on this; it's not as bad as it looks." Wales approached the tree wearing a reassuring smile.

"You could have mentioned that beforehand," I explained, walking back over to him.

The brunette's face darkened with worry and apology again. "I'm sorry, Vlad, but I can't stand having Emil disappear right after Arthur and Lukas did. It's too dangerous for someone like hi…" Wales was cut off. Something lunged at him from _inside_ the tree and tugged Wales into the bark with it. He melted into the dark and completely vanished from sight.

My eyes shot open and I darted forwards, hoping to grab him back, but he was completely gone. I extended my hand at the tree and my pupils shrank in further disbelief as I watched everything from my forearm down fade through the bark. However, I could still feel my hand. I curled it into a fist then relaxed it again, proving to myself that it hadn't disappeared. I breathed in relief for the two seconds before something wrapped around my wrist and pulled me inside.

"Aah!" My yell twisted into a gasp and I found myself gaping at the view.

It was a large oaken dome the size of a hall. Branches stuck out of the walls and coiled upwards into a point where they had hung a golden lantern that glowed amber with fire. It shone warm light onto the twisted wooden seats perched above me and down onto the soft emerald grass blanketing the floor like a carpet. More gold streamed down the sides in shimmering chain tapestries and I spotted three harps propped up in the back.

The whole area revolved around the throne that was carved from a young tree, adorned with golden decorations, and draped in red cloth. It forced anyone's eyes to immediately fall onto the person sitting there.

He was less than metre tall but he didn't seem short because he was proportioned like an average man. His skin was fair and he was dressed in an old-fashioned scarlet jacket over a white shirt and dark leggings that extended to cover his feet as well. His green eyes were pale but no less piercing and atop his head of tight black curls was a shining coronet. He didn't appear to have any wings but the pointed ears poking out of his hair indicated his supernatural nature.

Red locked on green and I was silent in apprehension. The king wasn't the only fae in the room. At least a dozen were perched around the room. Most of them were watching with narrowed eyes but two were standing either side of Wales as guards and the other two I saw were holding Iceland in place. Thankfully he looked more embarrassed than hurt.

"Now tell me," the king began in a strangely commanding light voice. "Are there any more of your kind in this forest, _Cymry_?" He spoke Welsh fluently but his accent made me wonder whether they had a separate fairy language.

Wales shook his head respectfully with a small grateful smile. "No. It was just us three."

The king faced me with a scrutinising expression. "What is your name?"

My gaze flickered away from the fae to Wales, attempting to ask a nonverbal question. The Brit jerked his head minutely back to the king but I wasn't too sure on what he meant by that. Yet I followed his instructions and faced the man on the throne again.

He'd called Wales 'Cymry' so that probably meant he knew we were countries. I decided to go on that. I cleared my throat and replied.

He cocked his head in consideration. " _Rwmania_ …I have never travelled to such lands but after the persuasion of my home I have deemed you trustworthy for the time being. Do not breach this trust." I nodded obediently, the startling images of England and Norway flashing in my mind's eye warningly.

"He won't," Wales promised sincerely, not even glimpsing at me for confirmation. The trust felt odd considering how little the two of us actually interacted on a regular basis. "The only thing any of us want is to retrieve our friends. They went missing under magical circumstances." Wales manipulated his tone cleverly so he wasn't outright blaming them.

"You wish for guidance on magic, _Cymry_?" The king rested his chin on his fist with a sly look. "I would not have imagined such a time's occurrence, but I will admit that times have changed."

The corners of Wales' lips tightened. My focus swapped between the two and the worry that I was missing something grew.

"So just give them back," said Iceland. He paled as the king's attention returned back to the silver-haired young man.

"Hold your tongue." The king rose to his full height and rested a threatening hand on his sheathed sword's wooden handle. It could have been more intimidating if he wasn't almost half Iceland's height.

Wales stepped forwards quickly, his hands out in a mediator's stance but they retracted as the fae wheeled on him. "I will give you this guidance, _Cymry_ : do not assume I am without knowledge. I knew of your party's intentions, otherwise I might have hesitated in taking the Rolant here."

"Rolant?" I asked in spite of myself. I knew I should have stayed quiet if we were to quell the king's anger but I was curious.

"Marged Rolant. A woman who discovered a way to see past fairy illusions after working for them. It's the name for people who can do the same, like us," Wales supplied helpfully but then he frowned. "He means Iceland."

"Okay. I understand Iceland says a few things people don't like but he rarely means it," I said, addressing the king. "All he wants is to save his brother just as Wales wants to rescue his own. We're all nations so none of us can be called entirely innocent but in this case we are. England and Norway aren't threats to you and the Tylwyth Teg. If anything, they want to learn about and help anything magical."

I was hopeful but then the king smirked as if what I'd said was hilarious. It revealed his teeth and I noticed idly that he didn't appear to have any canines.

"I understand. I understand perfectly well now why you ventured here, and I hope that you understand in response why I am smiling. You came here in the hopes of retrieving your friends. I assume they were affected by similar amulets to the one you carry. You came to me, _Cymry_ , because you suspected magic but your own suspicions failed you. _Rwmania_ , show me the amulet."

I clenched the pendant in my pocket, nervous about the direction he was going in. Eventually I relented and held up the amulet by its cord for the room to see. The king noticeably grimaced in its presence but remained composed.

"What do you see on the back? Iron. You know its effect on my people, and you should know the contradiction that appears."

Wales' pupils shrank. His expression became one of horror. "It wasn't…"

The king sneered. "You're looking for the wrong fairy tale, _brawd Lloegr_."

* * *

 **I'm sorry but it wasn't going to be _this_ short. Soooo, the countries are in another castle ;)**

 **Let's just hope there aren't... _too_ many hard feeling over this mistake, eh Wales?**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter and for those reading as I uphold, happy holidays regardless of who or where you are! Please review with any comments or questions about the fic, I love reading them! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Na, allai hi ddim (Na, ashlae hee thim) – No, it couldn't be * Brawd Lloegr (Brawd Shloigur) – Brother of England * Llaw Haearn (Shlaw Hae-arn) – Iron Hand * Takk – Thanks (Icelandic)**

* * *

 **Wales**

"N-No... _Na_ , _allai hi ddim_ …"

King Arwyn's smirk broadened as he eased himself back into his throne. "It could indeed happen, _brawd Lloegr_."

My hands clenched into fists. My expression tightened. "Don't call me that."

"Rhys, what is he talking about?" Romania asked but his voice was distant to my ears.

"Arwyn, who could it be?" I demanded. "You know. Who kidnapped England and Norway?"

The King raised a slender eyebrow at me, unable to resist the urge of proving he was better than anyone else, but then something shot through his expression. The arrogance was killed by a memory and his face set itself into something harder.

"You must know, your friends were not the only ones stolen. Something more important than people have been taken from us. This _thief_ has stolen our magic from my people. It may explain why your suspicions came to me but I still cannot believe your actions." His voice was already full of contempt at the thief but it was rising with his anger at me.

"You have been acting ignorant, to say the least. You are not only ignorant to the violence occurring under your very nose but you also to its source. Heh. My people's power had faded for a long time, _brawd Lloegr_ , but you amaze me."

 _Not in a good way_ , I thought bitterly, though my anger wasn't well directed. I was so sure it was the Tylwyth Teg, but I was an idiot. I stared at the grassy floor and tried not to make my emotions apparent on my face despite the fact my hands were still wrapped into fight fists.

"Fine. I'll say it. I have no idea what you're on about. You know more than me; that's what you wanted me to say, right? Then explain yourself."

The king had been leaning forwards in rage but he straightened up in his oaken throne and rested against the back again. He smiled mischievously.

"Knowledge is not something my kind gives away lightly, yet you are our home on Earth so I will make the exception. The thief is not the man who created the amulets. He used them and sent them but he is merely using _our_ magic to manipulate the spells of _Llaw Haearn_."

"Iron Hand," I translated automatically. The gesture made me aware of Romania and Iceland again which then made me embarrassed at how I'd forgotten about them.

"But you're saying it's not Iron Hand. Does this mean you're not going to tell us who the actual thief is?" said Romania.

Arwyn's attention turned and he brushed away his black hair. "I...cannot tell you."

I frowned but didn't say anything, hoping Romania was going in the right direction.

"Listen. The Tylwyth Teg have been hurt by this person just as much as us nations. We want to find them and take them down and I assume you would too. If you help us, then it's the best for everyone," Romania said.

The king suddenly started to look uncomfortable. "Yes...Yet I cannot tell you which tale it responsible. However, I will lend you this aid. I trust that you will work to destroy them so not only will I lead you to someone with answers, I will get your there as well."

Arwyn looked back to me. "We can send the three of you to a lake lady. This one I know has a keen interest in the world's goings-on. I'm sure she will tell you which of your tales has come back for revenge."

"What about Iron Hand himself?" Iceland asked from behind the king. "Where's he?"

"Hidden away and ridden with guilt," he replied curtly. "He grieves over his selfishness and an old candle. Such is the fate of humans led by nothing but themselves. I promise he is not relevant to this, only his spells are."

He waved his hand and the two guards holding Iceland let go. They pushed him lightly and he stumbled closer to Romania and me. " _Takk_ ," he muttered, rubbing his arm. Iceland walked over to in between us so we were standing in a line, side-by-side.

Arwyn stood up and the six other fairies standing around us followed him. Out the corner of my eyes I spotted Romania and Iceland grow wary when they approached but I raised an arm, silently telling them to stay put while I prepared myself. I'd faced their portals beforehand and it wasn't easy to stomach without bracing first.

The king met my gaze. His sharp eyes were a different green to mine. "As a whole, we are recovering but neither of us are yet recovered." He surprised me with a smile; it wasn't too friendly but it was a smile nonetheless. "If I were you, I would see this situation as a good sign. Heed that in the future." He spread his attention between all of us again. "I hope you succeed, or else." And with that _lovely_ thought Arwyn and the other fairies closed their eyes and locked hands.

Their expressions were set in concentration and they began to sing. Romania and Iceland gasped softly at the sound. I didn't only because I'd heard their songs many times before. Their singing was like the vocal embodiment of a rainbow shining through crystal or a waterfall. Unearthly melody decorated with gorgeous harmonies that rolled over each other perfectly. The air hummed with power as if it was trying to join in.

I knew what they wanted. I moved and grabbed both the other countries' hands then I started to sing as well. My voice wasn't magical like theirs but I was the land of song and proud. My lower tones merged into the music and I felt our power join along with it. Their magic washed through me and I passed that on in turn to Romania and Iceland.

I closed my eyes and found the image of a glassy, sapphire-surfaced lake in place of the blackness. That image became more and more real as the noise around me built and built. There was some discord though, I knew that there wasn't complete or mutual trust between us, but they were relying on us to do something for them whether it benefited us or not. That was the best I was going to get from them.

Power spun around the rough circle formed by the Tylwyth Teg and the nations. I heard the fairy vocals fade until I realised I was on my own, sort of. I opened an eye experimentally and found myself standing next to the water I'd envisioned.

I sighed in relief. Thanking the fact I was finally away from them and feeling happy in the moment of levity before all the pressure caught back up with me.

"Rhys." I glanced down and saw Iceland tugging on my hand; his skin was tinged a nauseous green but he was trying in vain to hide it.

Romania wasn't as stubborn. I unclenched both my hands and he immediately went to hug his stomach, groaning as he did so.

I chuckled in spite of the thoughts swimming in the forefront of my brain. "C'mon guys. My singing isn't that bad is it?"

"Ha ha," Romania gurgled. "You know it's not. It's just...Urgh. I hate teleportation. It's never good no matter how you do it."

Iceland flopped down onto the earth, finally relenting. "Well you both actually _do_ magic! I didn't ask for this...What is this anyway?"

I strolled towards the water. The place they'd dropped us off in was very beautiful. I hadn't seen it in my vision but we were surrounded by mountains like we were in the middle of a natural bowl. The sky was overcast but that was what I was used to. I walked a few steps further before sitting down on the bank. A few tufts of reeds or grass stuck out of the reflected grey and swayed lightly in the air. I allowed myself to relax and cleared my mind. We were one massive step closer to finding my brother and Iceland's.

* * *

 **It's a bit shorter than the rest but I think this was the proper place to stop events-wise.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter and would love if you reviewed! :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello everyone! :D**

 **To those reading as I update: Happy New Year! Let's hope 2016 is an even better year than 2015!**

* * *

 **Brawd Lloegr (brawd shloigur) – Brother of England * Pam – Why * Pam ydw i'n pryderi? (Pam udoo een prudery) – Why do I care?**

* * *

 **Wales**

I waved my hand around in the water and watched the ripples with interest. My eyes flickered up and down since I had to keep checking for the friend Arwyn told me about. Iceland and Romania were chatting a small way away from me since they'd both agreed that they didn't want to risk a mistake after what had happened beforehand with the Tylwyth Teg. I groaned quietly at the memory. I _still_ couldn't believe how badly I'd messed up. I was already seen as a small country, and now when they relied on me...

I cleared my throat and spoke in Welsh. "Lady of the Lake, I need your help. I have..." I dug my hand into my pocket and smirked at the dual-coloured mints. Once again, I had proved to myself that meeting treats were a brilliant idea. "...some brays for you, as an offering."

I tossed the sweets into the water but instead of just floating or sinking they dissolved into a dust. That dust swirled about shapelessly for a moment before flowing further into the centre of the lake. The surface bubbled into froth and became a beautiful woman. Her eyes were watery but not blue; they mirrored the lake's grey surface exactly. Her face and frame were long and narrow. Straight white blonde hair pooled off her shoulders down to her ankles. She was sitting in a relaxed way on the water like it was solid. She brushed her hand across it and gazed at her reflection.

"Good afternoon!" I called over to her.

She glanced up. The Lake Lady was rolling one of the mints around between her fingers. She beamed. "Helloooo!"

I cupped my hands over my mouth, then brought them down again. She was sitting quite far from where I stood. I waved my hand backwards. "Do you want to come closer?!"

She considered this. The blonde woman got to her feet and drifted over, closer to the lake's bank, but she stopped a few metres away. She stared past me and in the other two's direction. I opened my mouth to redirect her attention back to me but I was interrupted by her giggling.

Iceland and Romania were gaping at her, especially at her reaction, yet the Lake Lady continued to beam. She twirled a long strand of silk-like hair around her finger. "Hi! My name's Lynn. How about you?" Lynn tucked her arms behind her back and leant forwards at Iceland.

Iceland's pale skin reddened and his violet eyes danced around erratically, asking Romania and I furiously for help. Romania and I, very helpfully, just smirked and stayed quiet.

 _I hate you_ , Iceland mouthed as Lynn waited patiently with an odd look sparkling around in her eyes while she waited for his answer.

"Yeah, I'm...um... Emil Steilsson. Uh, nice to meet you, Lynn."

"Heyyyy, Emil." She looked me and Romania up and down but didn't look too impressed. However, she seemed to know who I was.

"Hey, Rhys. What're you doin' here? And where did you meet _him_? He doesn't look like he's from around here." She was smiling quite sillily.

"We're looking for Lukas and Arthur: my brother and Emil's."

Lynn wrinkled her nose. "Oh. You mean _Lloegr_ , don't you?" I nodded with a sigh. She started curling her hair again. "Great. Did you invite him over here again? Is he drunk?"

I shook my head. "Nah. He should be sober, and come on; he _is_ my brother. Arwyn said..."

"So Em, what's your proper name?"

I could see Iceland's thoughts churning, wondering what on Earth he'd walked into. "Iceland," he said briefly but his eyes widened at Lynn clapping.

"Cool! I knew there was something I liked about you. You're all icy, right? I'm all water! We're like a perfect match. D'you need any help? Lake Ladies are _always_ okay with helping cute guys, especially if they're just like us; only, y'know, colder."

If she wanted a land of ice, she was probably looking for Greenland but I kept my mouth shut. I knew she had never left Wales, after all. Iceland glared at me for advice. Ladies like Lynn were generally easy to talk to once you found out what they wanted but if you didn't know then it was a nightmare. I knew from experience you had to take what you could get. She obviously didn't feel like talking to Romania or me so I gave him a thumbs-up. "Just go with it," I whispered.

Iceland met Lynn's eyes and started talking. I reached to the side and tugged on Romania's sleeve. The two of us backed away to leave them alone. I thought Iceland was a bit, well, _weird_ when he was smiling like he was but even if his posture indicated awkwardness he seemed to be comfortable enough.

"C'mon." I led Romania over to a wooden park bench so we could leave Iceland and Lynn alone, relatively speaking. Romania couldn't suppress his laughter, even when there was a hand over his mouth.

"So..." He chuckled. "I can't believe _she_ would be friends with Arwyn."

I shrugged. "Arwyn can be quite a surprising fae. To be honest, this didn't surprise me _at all_. I just hope this means we can get on the right track."

Romania furrowed his eyebrows at me. His smile had melted away at my words and his mouth was set straight.

"Rhys." He spoke firmly, in an almost scolding manner. "Don't beat yourself up over your mistake. It wasn't as if Emil or I offered any help. At least you tried and, hey, now we know what we're doing...ish," Romania added honesty. He picked his expression back up quickly though. "It's not like it was a dead end anyway. The Tywlyth Teg helped us get here after all and now we get to find out who took Arthur and Lukas." His smile was encouraging but mine wavered. Red eyes fell down and Romania soon noticed my hands were balled up and shaking.

"Rhys?"

Lynn and Arwyn weren't fans of England by a long shot. I knew that it was only because of the Tylwyth's own magic being stolen and Iceland that they were bothering to help us. I didn't blame them at all. England had been a prick to everyone around the time when they were all fully awake. It was still sad that the real reason they were helping had almost nothing to do with me. We had all lost touch a long time ago. So much that I didn't even know what was going on in my own country...

"Wales. What's wrong with you?" I met Romania's eyes again but found it took more effort than I'd expected. His gaze analysed mine which was mostly clear of emotion. British stiff upper lip and all that.

"Yeah?"

"What does _brawd Lloegr_ mean?" Romania wondered. All nations understood each other but Welsh wasn't an official language in Romania so some things were going to slip under his understanding.

"It means 'brother of England'," I explained. His face fell into further confusion.

"Then why did Arwyn use it as an insult?" I almost protested but the Romanian caught me before I could even try. "Wales, you're older than me but don't act like I don't know anything. I saw you."

I exhaled deeply and leant back on the bench, admittedly stalling, but the look in Romania's eyes forced me to answer. "Arwyn called me _Cymry_ to start off with. He named me after the people because even though I was technically founded in 1056, I'd been around for _much_ longer. Like, for instance, there have been Germans around way before Germany was founded. But, for _far_ too long after 1536 I became a part of England. He'd already taken a ton of my land from me but from then on I was an 'equal part of the Kingdom of England'."

My breathing hadn't worked. My hands shook with increasing violence and my voice was now fuelled with a sharp bitter anger that visibly scared Romania. I took no notice. I couldn't control the words anymore. They forced their way into the air and tore through all the barriers that had been there for centuries.

"The countries of Great Britain and Ireland unified but I didn't count. Legally, I was only England. Legally, I was _nothing_ , and that wasn't even the worst thing. For some reason, England didn't leave it at that. The. Damned. Welsh. Not. He stomped all over my language, my culture, and my people!"

That was it. I couldn't stay still any longer. Not only was I spitting the words out but now my hands were glowing with energy. Emerald fire engulfed my fists and Romania yelped. He might have said something yet it was distant. Unheard. I looked down at it and laughed. I heard that the warmth had disappeared. It was colder and more jagged than I'd heard from myself in a long while.

"See? My magic used to be strong, stronger than England's, but you know what iron does. A nation's magic differs slightly from the magic of its creatures but I can still be affected. I still was affected. England _loves_ remembering the Industrial Revolution. He still credits himself for having led it in Europe. He's always had a _selective_ memory of the past."

* * *

 _ **Wales**_

My breath was haggard. My lungs clawed at my chest and heart desperately. Every breath was a chore that did not feel worth the effort as I struggled for longer and longer. Black dust was everywhere. There was dirt under my grubby nails, caked in my hair, and embedded in my old clothes. I was wearing what had, at one point, been a white shirt. That was a bit of a joke now. Even my skin wasn't exempt. I'd always been pale yet even though my skin definitely wasn't dark, it was black. Turned black from the earth and the hours upon hours of work spent underneath it.

The effect on my left arm was from a more painful source. The skin on my arm was a gruesome blend like oil in water. Deathly white blanketed by sooty black with frayed edged the colour of bubbling blood. It was the reminder of disaster engrained into my body, _another_ explosion I wouldn't forget soon. Even when I wasn't there, I knew.

No matter how young I'd been, I had always considered mountains something of beauty. Painted green by forests, purple by heather with the specks of white sheep dotting the slanted fields. Even when the sky was grey with clouds they always stood strong. Trees would bend but they would not. My sigh was accompanied by a puff of dark dust. Humans always found a way to use even the largest parts of nature.

Large towns and cities were popping up all across my country, called there by the mines, yet I wished they would disappear. I never thought I'd feel contempt for my treasured landscape but times changed. Times changed ruthlessly.

I'd searched and searched, a spark of an idea having set me on a frantic trail. I was away from all the industrialisation for now, but it was as heavy and present as if I was carrying an entire slag heap on my shoulders. It weighed me down but I continued walking. It had been a full day now. A full day of being trapped inside nowhere but my own mind. It was better than the alternative.

When humans were exposed to something constantly they would always grow to resent it. That truth had never been more prevalent to me than now. I had to get away from my brother. Even if he wasn't there in person his presence was omnipresent near settlements.

That bastard. I hated him. I was only something he could use, a tool. I wasn't even allowed to say anything about it. He'd stolen my voice along with everything else. I was tired of these thoughts. They'd been repeating themselves in my brain for ages but it was all pointless. I reached the point of utter apathy.

I tried getting someone to appear before me but the area was empty. It didn't surprise me. It was the same result as all the other times. No-one was around. I couldn't find anyone from the Tylwyth Teg, any of the Lake Ladies or even any of the dragons. They'd faded. The best scenario would be if Dewi was just avoiding me.

I stopped in my tracks. It felt odd to stop after forcing myself to persevere for so long. My head whipped around, a pointless gesture yet I couldn't help myself. I wanted to make sure no-one was spying. I stood on top of the mountain's flat peak. I'd been walking along the spine of the long mountain and there were gradual drops either side of me so I could see a long way away. I was in the midst of nature. Maybe people hiked around here but I couldn't see any signs of living.

I held out my hand tentatively and stared. My injured hand rested in my pocket so I didn't have to look at it. I concentrated on the unharmed skin and thought back. _The dirt is just from farming_ , I told myself. I recalled the old days, excluding all memory of anyone but the Welsh. I was Wales. I was unaffected. I was on my own.

My heart panged but I ignored it. Family had always been important. I'd excused my siblings when I really shouldn't have. Now I'd learnt better. I was Wales. I was _not_ England. I mouthed it like a mantra, over and over and over.

Then I changed the wording. I thought about fire, picturing the flames of dragons, of a hearth, of a kitchen, and the emerald colour of my eyes and magic. I wordlessly chanted the spell, but nothing happens. I clenched my eyes shut and forced myself into the past, but nothing happened. I snarled at my failure, allowing my anger to pour out and empower me, but nothing _ever_ happened.

I felt my face prickle with emotion. My frustration had built until all the anger had been sanded away and all there was, was sadness. I almost cried. I'd tried _so_ hard. I'd tried for _so_ long, but I was empty. I was empty. I was empty...

I couldn't give up though. It wasn't in my nature. My stubborn determination crawled on despite my internal pleas. I could not resign myself to being just England's slave. I was his brother! Wasn't I? I would have screamed.

* * *

 **Wales**

The sharpness of the memory caught me like the blade of a dagger. I gasped shortly and cut my own voice off. I gulped, forcing the breath and forcing my voice to return. I would not give it up again.

" _Pam_?" I asked myself aloud. " _Pam ydw i'n pryderi_?"

Romania's eyes were wide, his pupils were small dots in a sea of crimson. That crimson wasn't alone thought. My face was the same shade as his irises, tainted by both anger and embarrassment. What was I doing? I barely ever talked to Romania. Why was I just baring my soul like that?

"Wales..." Romania looked too awkward and unsure to meet my eyes in return. "What is this?" he asked. "Have you...actually told England this?"

I clenched my jaw. The dam of emotions had broken and left my numb now they had finished. "Yeah...I'm not sure if I've done it like...like _this_ , but yeah. I have."

His face was flickering with thick worry and thick confusion. "Wales, I think..."

"It doesn't matter," I lied. It was a lie I told myself a lot.

"Things are better now. There's no Welsh Not. I'm regaining my language and culture, and what would I be without England anyway? Wales, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland. We're all pretty small countries on our own, we all know that, but the United Kingdom is all the way up there with the big countries like Germany and France. It's like the EU. By combining efforts _its_ GDP is larger than the US!"

The funny thing was, I genuinely believed the last bit. I wasn't making anything up there. Groups were stronger than individuals. History that taught the world that fact various times in various ways. I was a part of the UK and I knew it was for the best, but history wasn't swept under the carpet easily. Why had I ignored it for so long? I wanted my family to stay together, we'd already lost one, but in wanting so I'd ignored something large. I hadn't stopped resenting England.

* * *

 **So in this chapter we got to see Wales around the Industrial Revolution era. I'm not saying that things were horrific for Wales but with the mass of mining, lack of Welsh usage, and small number of manufacturing actually occurring in Wales beyond factories it wasn't a great time, especially culture-wise.**

 **And now things have come back to bite him.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review with any comments or questions about the fic, I love reading them! :D**


	6. Chapter 6

**Paid Â Poeni (Paed ar poyni) – Don't worry * Canwyll (Canwilsh) – Candle * Mynydd y Drum (Minith i dreem) * Ystradgynlais (Ust-rad-gin-laes)**

* * *

 **Iceland**

I was still grumbling even after Lynn disappeared back into the grey water. I'd been civil to her of course but I wasn't quite in the mood to forgive Romania _or_ Wales for laughing. My hands in my pockets, I glanced around the small park.

Admittedly, Lynn had been a whole lot nicer than any of the other Welsh fairy creatures I'd met. He hadn't been held against his will or anything. Though, it still hadn't been quite under his own volition. Not that he hadn't been friendly or anything. She was...nice.

I groaned, annoyed. I hated my face. Whenever I even _thought_ of getting embarrassed it flooded with red. Something my br... _Norway_ was always quick to mention. There was no-one in my direct vicinity but I powerwalked away from them anyway, preferring to leave my thoughts behind me.

"Rhys!" I called grumpily as I walked. "Vlad, I got what you wanted."

Neither of them replied. I spotted them a small way away, sitting opposite each other on a wooden bench. For some reason the planks were painted a different shade of brown but it would be idiotic to assume that that was what the two of them were looking so shocked about.

"Hey, jerks. I got some info by the way, just in case either of you two..."

Romania shot me an incomprehensible look. He narrowed his eyes at me with his red irises reminded me of a rose, or blood. I quickly settled on the former image. Wales' face was closed off. He was staring at his interlocked hands while they rested on the surface. I returned to them Romanian.

"So I'm guessing none of you are going to tell me what happened?"

Romania gave me a warning look but Wales interrupted him prematurely.

" _Paid â poeni_ , Vlad," the brunette assured his friend. He turned to me and smiled assuringly, something I noticed didn't quite pass on to his eyes. They were still pretty cold. I could never understand the British. What was the point in keeping their emotions inside all the time? Frankly, it was annoying. By now it wouldn't be farfetched to assume they were allergic or something.

"So, Emil? Who's the person responsible? What did Lynn tell you?"

I looked up and recalled. "Lynn said this person isn't magic, that's why he stole it from the fairies and Iron Hand. Do you what spell did he steal from Iron Hand yet?"

"...I can't quite remember. It...It's something to do with candles, something to do with _canwyll_."

Romania dug out the amulet, his eyes darting over the smudged word scratched into the grey waxen oval. "So you _do_ remember what this means?" He presented the amulet at Wales and the Welshman nodded.

"I didn't forget that for long. It means 'Candle', an everyday word. Usually. Candles can be pretty scary when they're around my tales so I hoped it was simply a red herring."

"And did you believe that for a moment?" I asked, my eyebrow raised.

He shook his head. "Not really," he confessed. "I... _can't_ remember what Iron Hand did but it's not just him. Corpse Candles are dangerous. I never thought..."

Wales stopped. Romania and I waited. I raised an eyebrow at him. "'Corpse Candles'? They don't sound good. Do you care to elaborate at all?"

The British country grimaced. "It's old. A way of tying a mortal life to a candle. They can act as omens of someone's death. Not that that would affect any of us anyway so that's not the point. Who is it, Emil? You haven't actually told us."

My mouth fell open and my cheeks burned. "Oh. Lynn told me. His name is - and do _not_ blame my accent here – Robin Thee."

A bit of warmth returned to the air when Wales laughed. Whatever was troubling him seemed to have been forgotten, however momentarily. I balled up my fists a bit.

"Don't," I warned.

He chuckled again. "Alright, but it was pretty appalling." His voice sobered. "You don't mean _Robin Ddu_ do you? That means 'Black Robin', another old story. England better thank goodness that he invited me to that meeting.

"I was reading up on this recently. Black Robin's an old man who tricked the world into believing he was a wizard despite him being nothing of the sort. He had nothing but his intelligent yet with only that he found his way to fortune and fame, at the expense of quite a few people," Wales added, unfortunately.

My face darkened, so did Romania's. We finally knew exactly who we were up against, and it never was a pleasant thing to find out. This tale, Black Robin, had stolen from fairies, from wizards and from countries. This was going to be difficult. But then again..."At least he's, like, old? How long ago was he around again?" I wondered.

Romania sighed. "I'm afraid they don't work like that."

I threw up my hands in frustration. "Fine. Sure. I'm just going to go with aaaall this crap after now." I stuffed my hands into my pockets and grumbled. "Do you at least know where we're going now?"

Wales didn't respond straight away. Instead, he close his eyes and concentrated, bringing his hand up to his chin and his expression becoming more contemplative. I took advantage of this immediately. Violet shot to crimson and I tried my best with facial expressions and wild hand gestures to mime what I wanted to say.

 _What happened with Wales?!_

Though I had the sneaking suspicion that I'd just confused him. Luckily Romania could guess what I wanted. _It's complicated_ , he mouthed back. His expression was pained and regretful at the lack of opportunity. He glimpsed briefly at Wales. _I'll tell you later_.

I rolled my eyes. Great…That pretty much meant never. I crossed my arms. I _would_ grill him later. Wales stood up and Romania followed suit.

"Black Robin has probably taken them to where Iron Hand first did his spell, and that was on a mountain."

"You need to be way more specific," I deadpanned, gesturing to the circle of mountains surrounding us.

"Yeah…Sorry 'bout this but we're going to have to pop somewhere else before heading there. I just can't let us fight Black Robin without knowing what we're up against."

"But I thought he had no magic," Romania recalled.

"And what about Lukas and Arthur?" I reminded them both.

"He's not a wizard but we know he has some magic at his disposal, and I promise it's going to be quick. Do not worry. We'll save Norway shortly." Wales beamed and shepherded us across the park. We headed away from the lake and managed to find our way onto a path. For the hundredth time that day I made a mental note to smack Norway and to thank Wales once we got out of this. Without him Romania and I would have spent the day panicking, not that we weren't at least partially.

But there was something up with him. Why didn't he know his own fairytales? Why did he still not know where we were going? I wanted to ask him these questions out loud but my dread got in the way. I suspected that those questions wouldn't improve his mood in the slightest.

I cocked my head back in thought, staring at the clouds. There were plenty but the sky was clearing towards the northwest. I followed the two older nations without much thought which ended up with me crashing into Wales.

"Ow! What? What is it?" My head whipped around and my eyes locked on Wales with his face in his hand.

"I left my car back at the field…on the other side of Wales." He sighed. "I hate stealing." And we headed to the main road as it came into view.

* * *

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	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys! :D**

 **As a quick note. Most of the Welsh here you won't have to understand but if you do I'll say that it's modern Welsh, not 12** **th** **century (for obvious reasons)**

* * *

 **Norway**

I watched and try not to smile as for the hundredth time that day England launched into a long rant filled to the brim with profanity. He was an amazing person in the sense that he could act so dignified yet so utterly ridiculous within the same hour.

I toyed with the wax pendant locked around my neck. I could sense its power was weakening but it still had a few tricks up its sleeve. Whenever either of us attempted to take it off the cord would constrict so it was impossible to get it past even our jaw lines. At least it wasn't controlling us directly anymore.

"AND FOR THE LAST BLOODY TIME, WHAT KIND OF TRAP IS THAT?! A F_ING BASKET!? I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT…"

We were stuck on a small mountain. Its peak was high and narrow like a spire but its surface was covered by fields and forests, hiding any activity amongst the rich green. England and I were sparing a rest in the clearing, using the excuse of exhaustion to put off doing the task set for us. As suspicious and specific it was, targeting a nation's house, our captor didn't seem to fully understand who we were.

My hand rose to my face and I sighed, exasperated. The memories were damaged and frayed like a photograph in a fire but I knew roughly what I'd been forced to do. England had failed so I'd attacked Romania, Wales, and Iceland. It wouldn't have hurt them too badly, hopefully, but it had been hard enough getting Iceland to defrost around me as it had been…

"GAH!" England choked and spluttered, having forgotten the enchantment on the rope in his rage. He gagged and gasped, letting the amulet fall back to its regular length.

"I thought I told you to stop that."

"I forgot!" he snapped in reply. England straightened up, massaging his neck as he did so. His thick eyebrows were furrowed in frustration and there was a large crease of worry on his forehead. The Brit wobbled briefly until he leant against a tree.

England blinked rapidly, attempting to ease what I assumed was a headache. It must have been worse than mine since I'd given up attempting to magic myself out of this situation a while ago. Instead, my violet eyes flickered around, analysing the surroundings in case an opportunity arose. England, on the hand, had tested every single way he could to get out of his pendant's spell but it had resulted in nothing but more punishment for the golden-haired country.

"Calm down," I advised. "We probably have a bit more time before he suspects we're procrastinating. He hasn't caught on to the fact we don't _need_ this…I think."

"No, no. From what I can tell," he sighed, "you're right. I'm just acting foolishly." England glanced around lazily. "I see no _demons_ around here. No people either. We're done."

I smirked. "You're hoping someone interrupts us, aren't you?"

He shrugged slyly. "He appears not to want it to happen. If it's a demon or just a human, I'll take it. Anything to get us out of this mess."

I frowned. "The others are coming after us, right? I mean, this _is_ Wales's home."

England nodded, an odd expression taking up his face. I couldn't read it. "If all goes to plan he won't have to. It's not like I want to trouble him with the effort."

"Sure," was all I had to say. We had been forced to inspect this mountain ever since becoming aware again. Our captor was somewhere on the hill preparing for goodness-knows-what but every so often he would have to redirect us. I expected that was going to happy again soon but his words didn't mean anything to England or me.

England's pupils shot down to pinpricks and he gasped sharply. He recovered quickly but it was always a shock to him. He pressed his hand against his heart and swore, pulling his face into a menacing scowl.

"Goodness. Why doesn't he ever choose _you_!?"

I raised my eyebrow at him. I knew it was the anger talking yet he was still a prick. "It's because you're so likeable."

He laughed curtly. Both our eyes wandered around the clearing's wall of trees in search for the magical kidnapper. The little flare of pain was the warning so we were ready. I scanned the emptiness for a second before securing my eyes on the new figure.

He was easily recognisable as someone who wasn't fully human. His hair and beard appeared to be drenched in silver and his skin was wrinkled with time but when as he stood, he stood with the posture of a strong man. He wore an emerald cloak that obscured the rest of his twelfth century clothing. The rest of the colours were dull, however, despite their apparent age, his clothes were the quality of something just bought. The old tale brandished a long staff fashioned from an oak branch and his eyes were deep, coal-like pits that twisted the atmosphere into a dangerous air.

I could have described him as an old man but that would have been deceptive. This man was not frail in any sense of the word. Every time I'd seen his face it had been contorted in annoyance; this time was no different.

" _Beth ydych chi'n gwneud, chi twpsod?! Bydd rhaid i mi_ lladd _chi os rydych chi basdun peidwch â dechrau!_ " he snarled.

I narrowed my eyes, acting more on his tone than words. I was fluent in Norwegian, Sami, and Lule since they were my official languages and I could get by in quite a few more. However, Welsh was Greek to me. Nations could understand each other but unfortunately Wales wasn't here to translate.

England glared at him, his arms folded in defiance. He was grinned arrogantly then turned to translate. "He called us idiots then said he's going to kill us bastards if we don't do something or other." He trailed off.

"That's impressive, England. I didn't realise you weren't as monolinguistic as the world thinks."

"Hey! I am _fluent_ in Scottish and Irish Gaelic, French, and Welsh!..Insults," he added quickly.

I chuckled. After hearing them for centuries on end it did not surprise me.

" _Caewch eich bennau_!"

"Shut up," England translated automatically.

The Welsh wizard did not appreciate the way England spoke. My eyes and mouth began to widen, realising the danger, but I was too slow to warn him in time.

The two amulets burst into vivid green and icy light. The cloaked man muttered something and jerked his hand upwards, sending the amulets up with it. The cords shortened automatically and cut off my windpipe. My fingers shot up and clawed at the coarse rope, trying to loosen it, but it was held over my head like a noose for a painful amount of time. The wizard's hand shot down again and our heads were yanked down by the abrupt motion.

I almost lost my balance and fell over but England and I managed to catch ourselves. We both wheezed, gulping the air around us. When I breathed in I felt my stomach groan. I'd eaten that day but after all the time I'd had my magic used against me there was a pit. It was as if I hadn't eaten since the week's start. My eyes snapped back to the pure black ones loathingly.

"What was that for?" But my words were just as intelligible to him and his were to me.

England's breathing was laboured and his forehead was screwed up in concentration. "What...is your...name?" It was accented similarly to a robot but he tried at his brother's language.

He did not smile. Instead a seemingly invisible force hooked the corners of his lips upwards. He mirrored a puppet's interpretation at what any emotion other than anger was. His eyes hadn't changed so I assumed they were painted cruel facsimiles.

" _Robin Ddu_ ," he replied. My eyes flickered to the side and I was worried to see England's eyes were devoid of recognition.

" _A chroeso i borth Uffern, Lloegr_." Robin spoke slowly and patronisingly, fuelling with voice with malevolence.

England's face fell, recognising the words from his long list of acquired threats throughout history. He mouthed the words in fear, sneaking a translation for me. _Welcome to the gates of Hell, England_.

The black-eyed Welshman revelled in our horror. He sneered devilishly and ordered something in Welsh. Neither England nor I caught what he said but it didn't matter. He raised his staff and I clenched my jaw, bracing for the inevitable.

And so it came. Ice fire sparked across the grey wax surface and ignited the words. I noticed the triumph blazing in his inky eyes dissipated somewhat, the opposite to his usual sickening expression. He must have caught a glimpse of me because Robin rushed to make me focus on something else. The fire from the pendant shot into my heart and its frigidity filled my body. From then on I moved in the forced mimicry of a marionette. Then followed the only words of his I ever understood since they rang like tower bells inside my mind. _Continue my work_.

And we had no choice. My mind fogged up and my sight left me momentarily. When the forest bled back into my vision after clearing the smoke the evil man was gone and the clearing had disappeared completely.

I blinked, disorientated and unsure where I was. I rolled my eyes and muttered a curse. It was just great. I was standing inside a particularly thick thicket of trees and from what I could tell, there was no-one is sight.

I reached into my pocket and found it was littered with dirt. I pulled out five leaves, sadly able to understand their meaning. As his little zombie I'd searched five areas without my knowledge.

I moaned experatedly. "England!" I yelled with my hands cupped over my mouth. "Is anybody around!?"

Strangely, there was no reply. I thought that captors shouldn't abandon their prisoners in areas that left them completely unattended but that was just logic; I didn't expect a selfish old fairytale to implement something like _that_.

I raised my hand to my head and found that my headache had receded. I sighed. Sometimes I wished that the craziness could at least be consistent in its craziness. My arm fell back down and my fingers caught the now-cold amulet. I brought it up carefully so I could study it without strangling myself. It was definitely cold. It looked like just a clump of regular wax.

My eyes sparks with an idea and I pulled up the amulet. The wick recoiled. To my great disappointment, it wasn't yet slow enough for me to fit it around my head but it was close. I smiled. 'Robin Ddu' was running out quickly. My own magic would have supported it but the spell he'd used to contain it was unravelling. I could have escaped easily but something small stopped me.

"England!" I called out again, this time with greater urgency.

There was a small noise off in the distance. It was too faded to be recognisable but I headed towards it anyways. If it was England then I'd help him. If it was anyone else I'd ask them to help us. I trudged forwards with wide strides to avoid getting my shoes stuck in the muddy undergrowth grabbing at my feet.

After a minute or two it became easier to move through the dark woods. Whenever I called out for my fellow country I no longer got a response so I had to assume that where I was going was the correct direction. In the end I was pleased with myself. I was only a few metres off.

I stopped at the boundary of trees. It wasn't quite at the peak but there was a small field parted in-between the walls of wood. If you looked around there was a spectacular view of the lush Welsh countryside under the expected grey sky. However, that wasn't what I was staring at.

The rain yesterday had made the ground too perfect for the situation before me. Two wide circles had been drawn in the damp touching each other in the shape of an eight. Robin stood at the edge of one, his arms crossed and a victorious scowl pulling his mouth in contradictory directions.

The amulet hung around England was still glowing and his green eyes were still dull and glazed over so he hadn't been freed like I had. My eyes hardened. The old man was using us to do a spell for him. So that staff _had_ been for show.

" _Norwy_!"

I stiffened. I recognised my name at least. Heat welled up around my chest but it spluttered like a failing engine. Wisps of failed flame wormed their way inside me but they didn't control me anymore. My thoughts raced fiercely. If I fought now I could stop him. Some magical embers faded as soon as they blossomed into the air but enough made it so I understood what he was trying to get me do.

I stepped closer. I couldn't exactly abandon England. There was a _very_ long list of people who would kill me if I did. I strolled to the circles, careful not to step on the lines themselves, but then Robin yelled at him.

" _Peidwch â stopio!_ " Robin growled.

I hesitated, trying to guess the meaning as quickly as I could. I took and chance and paced steadily inside the circle. I tried meeting England's eyes but it was like trying to catch the gaze of an unconscious man.

The jade glow in the Brit's pendant intensified momentarily and England wandered into the circle opposite me. The moment he passed the mud boundary they'd set up his focus returned. He halted dead in his tracks and his head whipped around confusedly.

"Norway?"

"Just wait," I advised. "The magic controlling ours is weakening. We'll be able to escape soon."

England nodded. He stared over his shoulder at the fool's wizard. In Robin's outstretched hand there was an old, frayed leather book. His pit eyes bored into England's, non-verbally threatening him into taking it. England obeyed but didn't turn to meet the fairytale's eyes.

The book had been weathered greatly by time and the pages were yellow, ready to crumble at the first strong breeze. It was as thick and heavy yet there was no question in what to read. This book had been prepared. The moment he opened it the mass of pages split neatly and presented the necessary leaf immediately.

He met my gaze and shot me a glance full of worry. I couldn't see what was on the page so I couldn't tell but England seemed to understand it, whether it was good or not.

Robin barked something at England and the wheat-haired nation forced himself from his indecision. He held the spellbook in one hand and clutched the wax amulet with the other. "I don't have enough time, Lukas. From what I can tell, I'll need all my concentration to make sure _you_ don't die. If either of us run then he'll make me do it remotely," England warned me, his face screwed up in frustration.

"I can't guarantee you're safety if that happens." He smiled encouragingly, something that did not transfer to the rest of his face. "So, promise me you'll stay in the circle. If you just stay in the circle then neither of us should get hurt, according to this at least."

"England, what are we doing? What does _he_ want?" I pressed.

"Treasure," England said curtly, barely hiding his disgust. "We have to invoke the guardians for him. Just stay in the circle," he ordered.

I glared at him. Sadly, it was something he was used to brushing off. He was going to make this deal. Maybe he assumed he control these 'guardians'. Maybe not. It was more likely that all he wanted was to stay in control of himself.

The concern in his expression melted away at his command, clearing away into stone. There was no going back for him now. I raised my hands at him. If he went too far I would blast that pendant off him. I wasn't sure if he noticed my gesture but it didn't matter by then. He started to read.

"I adjure and invocate thee by the silence of the night..."

"ARTHUR!" someone shouted but it was not him who was affected.

A heavy weight slammed into me and I was sent flying. I crashed into the dirt and my clothes smashed into the mud. I winced but the force hadn't been enough to significantly hurt me. My eyes snapped back up to where I'd stood less than five seconds ago and they snapped open.

Wales was breathing heavily from running, his arms were both held out from shoving me, and his expression mirrored his brother's to a scary degree.

"Arthur, you can stop now..!" Romania started to yell. Iceland and the European country ran towards me and England, hoping to interrupt the ceremony, but dread was refusing to relinquish its grasp on me. I knew that the point of no return had been crossed a moment far too late.

Light snaked around the circles, catching the two British countries within their boundaries. Loathing contorted every part of Robin's face but a cackle bubbled up from his throat and into the air.

We all stared in horror. England wouldn't stop now. His brother's life was on the line.

* * *

 **This is almost the penultimate chapter everybody! I hope you've enjoyed this chapter.**

 **Thank you all for reading and I always love it when you favourite, follow, and review! :D**


	8. Finale : Part 1

**Diogelwch (Di-og-el-ukh) – Shield me * Dewch (Dewkh) - Come**

* * *

 **Wales**

England couldn't meet my eyes. He must have been aware of my presence but he refused to take his eyes off the spellbook.

"Wales, what on Earth!?" Norway yelled at me but I looked away from him. England needed to concentrate and I certainly couldn't risk distracting him with; we both knew what was going on.

England's face had been stone, cut-off from emotion, when I'd first come but now his shield had cracked. His expression was screwed up in frustration and his teeth were gritted in pain. _I never knew he cared so much_ , I thought hollowly.

"I adjure and invocate thee by the silence of the night and by the holy rites of magic and by the number of the infernal legions, that without delay thou present thyself here and answer my demand by the force of the words contained in this book!" He finished the third utterance and lightning crackled and burnt in the air around the mud lines' boundary.

His emerald eyes snapped up to mine within the second of him finishing the spell. "WALES, WHAT THE BLOODY HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?"

I balled up my hands adamantly. "Better me than Lukas. If one of us is going to fight then it's going to be me. They're my fairytales. They're my responsibility."

"Cut the crap, Rhys! You didn't need to do _any_ of this. All you _had_ to do was stop this!"

I was quiet for a moment. A small laugh bubbled upwards, breaking the ice I'd put upon the two of us.

"Heh. You're right for once, Arthur. I should have been able to stop this." I stared at my brother meaningfully. "But I want to let you know: I had to find out about this from a _library book_."

England's face fell, his anger giving way to a rare show of guilt.

"So even _you_ faded," Black Robin remarked snidely. "I assumed I was alone in that fate, my being without any supernatural powers, but it's gratifying to see my own home fall the exact same way."

"Shut up," I growled. "You have no idea what on Earth you're messing with. The five of us have powers you couldn't even imagine."

He was no wizard, but his eyes radiated a powerful darkness, an unbelievable selfishness that would consume his entire being until he was the tale before me. When he sneered, that darkness expanded.

"Yet with all that supposed power you couldn't even stop me. If you know what you are doing then you know you have no choice. However, if you are in the dark I hope you enjoy the surprise."

Now I knew. _Now_ I knew.

I glanced back to Romania, Iceland, and Norway. Their expressions were mixed and blurred with different emotions. Anger, confusion, annoyance, sadness, fear. I gave them a pass for all of them. They deserved to be angry at me and I could understand their confusion since none of them could understand Robin's side of our argument.

"What now?" England had lowered his centre of gravity unconsciously, bracing for some sort of fight, and he eyed the glowing borders.

I breathed deeply, attempting to brace myself in my own way. "A bull. A goat. A...Vlad, do you remember what came next?"

Romania tried to recall the guardians Wales' book had described but even if he could have formed the words in time, it had already begun. I tried to stay calm but I was armed with the knowledge of what would happen, for the most part. That was pretty contradictory. The ground rumbled tremendously but my feet felt locked in their positions so I wasn't shaken.

However, the other countries tumbled around and worked hard just to stay out of the damp mud. Iceland crashed into Norway who in turn barely avoided a collision with Romania. Unfortunately, I still had one last message for them.

"No matter what happens or what you see, do not go over _any_ of these lines!" I made the conscious shift to English in order to disguise my words from Black Robin who was waiting triumphantly on the other side of the field to the others. "If I fail, stop them. And when you can, get _him_! He..."

The tremors ceased in an instance, hurling everyone except for me, England, and Black Robin to the ground as if they were unrestrained passengers in a car crash. They flew to the side and mercifully out of the way.

It appeared without warning, materialising in the air in an inferno of searing heat. A great hoof stepped out of the split in the weather and a monstrous form soon followed. With its hide, the colour of caked blood, and its enormous curving horns like bone, a massive bull stomped into existence.

No-one could muster the will to say anything under its presence. All previous thought was burnt away like tissue and left everyone a statue.

The demon bull smashed its hoof into the earth and a billow of wind shot out from the source of impact. The oven air slammed into my chest and drove the breath from my lungs. My eyes widened in the fear I'd been trying so hard to repress. _It won't hurt me_. _It won't hurt me_ , I repeated over and over in a futile attempt at salvaging my concentration.

The beast eyes shone like the gleam of a blade and it tore its mouth open, unleashing a mind-splitting bellow unlike any cow I'd seen. It was the sound of every tsunami, every earthquake, and every disaster contorted into the cry of a farm animal. The volume continued to rise and rise as it lowered its jagged natural weapons at me and charged.

I shouldn't have been able to believe a creature of such a size and bulk could move with such speed and ferocity yet my brain had no problem understanding that this was the situation. The bull shot closer and closer yet my eyes looked past that, flickering around at the speed of bullets.

I'd read that the magic circles were supposed to destroy any creature as soon as it dared to cross the boundary but my eyes fell in worry regardless of that fact. Whether it was England, Norway, or Black Robin himself who drew these lines, my confidence bore unavoidable cracks.

The pin-sharp horns reared up and dived at me. The brightness at my feet flared up but darting eyes caught its weakness. My fear seeped into the earth around me and targeted the spell that worked to keep me safe. My head snapped up, the sudden surge of horrid realisation propelling my actions.

" _Diogelwch_!" It was the same spell I'd used to protect myself earlier that day. Magic poured into the circle and reinforced the faded shield. I couldn't move outside it or everything would fall apart on me. Somehow, I managed to rein myself in enough to avoid sprinting out of the beast's way then and there.

The white light sparked into the colour of fields after rain, the colour of my own magic. It flew upwards to form a holographic wall but when the bull smashed into it, it felt it. Its bellowing swelled with pain and rage, bending nearby trees under the immense volume. On the other hand, I wasn't allowed to go unaffected either. The impact of the shield made my own body shudder under the guardian's power. Energy bled out of me and darkness dotted about my side as I stumbled back.

I brought up my hands and pressed them to my ears. The bull's horns were inches away from where I used to be and had pierced halfway through my recently-conjured shield.

The bull rampaged and hurled its weight around destructively, upturning as much as its hooves would allow and continuing to shake the ground. It flung its snarling head to the side and its eyes locked onto the sight of Romania, Iceland, and Norway like a matador's cape.

England stepped forwards with a big, "No!" but my arm snapped out sternly.

"You can't!" I told him. "If either of us step out then this is going to fail."

We watched as the bull ripped its horns out of the green light. Cracks manifested among the dirty white until the lower half completely snapped off, freeing the monster into the field and allowing the remnants of the broken tips dissolved into the heat they came from.

My brother's face scrunched up in disgust. "Why the hell do you care!? Do you intend to make a habit out of aiding monsters!?"

I met his furious eyes with an oppressive calm. "It won't end like that, Arthur."

"Oh, really? I bet this will...Lukas!"

The country's back slammed awkwardly into the trunk of tree, tossing him to ground, spiralling limply. Romania moved between Norway and the monster. His hands were alight with chilling power he kept sending away in barrages against the monster. Cold fire cleaved away its garnet hide into wisps of feverishness as the horns had beforehand.

Iceland ran to his fellow Nordic as the beast crawled forwards, continuing on when it disappeared chunk by chunk to Romania's magic.

"Lukas! Lukas, get up or else!" Iceland threatened, his quavering voice betraying the heat underneath his skin.

Norway groaned in reply but struggled to do anything other than that for a few moments later.

"Gah!" Romania backed into a tree as the bull advanced, sticking him in a corner and at the most inconvenient time as well.

That was not the only demon guarding the treasure Black Robin sought. I ignored the malicious cawing imitating laughter behind me and concentrated on the space where the bull had appeared from. I was not disappointed.

Two more creatures stepped out of the blistering air and from the split into the cool weather. The differences in temperatures were so radical that steam rolled off them into a substantial cloud of threat.

The two of them were of equal size to the bull which was scary considering they were a goat and a boar. Their hides, tusks and horns were all the identical shades to the monstrous bull.

"Come on!" Iceland swore at the new sight but I held out my arm.

"Don't worry about them yet, Emil. They won't attack until they've failed to get me."

"So they can attack us?" Romania asked, his voice higher than usual. He was throwing more fire but they were awkward throws since he was pressed up against bark.

Iceland shook his head. "No," he muttered, "They're not getting any closer," and he pulled out a long, thin heavy-looking rod. The metal was dull and black but the end looked sharp enough to hurt. It was the iron poker.

"You remembered that?"

He didn't respond with words. Iceland sprinted forwards as the bull charged and whipped the poker around with excellent force. It cracked into the bulls massive head and despite the monster's size, the bull was sent hurling to the side. Iron melted through its body like salt through snow. Iceland's attack passed through its neck and the head flew off, steaming and fading on its way. Without control, the body stumbled and collapsed, quickly dematerialising.

Romania, Norway, England, and I could do nothing but blink in disbelief at the young country. He waved me off.

"What are you doing!?"

My responsibility cascaded back down onto my shoulders. I turned away and stared at the goat and boar. Despite my assurance their gazes were trailing towards the attacker of their fellow.

" _Dewch_!" I called. My voice brought their eyes to mine and they charged at me just as the bull had before them.

The sight was just as terrifying as before. Fire boiled beneath their blood-dark hides and the glinting bone daggers curling from their skulls could have gutted me without resistance. The oversized animals were covered in bristles that quaked intimidatingly over their muscles.

I glimpsed down again at the circle, biting my lip in thought. _I_ had weakened the circle. I stood on Welsh ground so when I felt fear, when I felt weak, the magic dependent on the earth around it would weaken along with it. England had set this circle. I would trust him.

I smirked, grateful that I hadn't voiced that last thought.

The air shook with the energy of their beating hooves against the mud. I refused to move. I had to stare them down. The...massive demons. The massive, scorching demons. It occurred to me that this would be the most idiotic plan when I eventually had to tell others about it. It would up there past, 'Invade Russia in the winter'.

The beasts exploded into my view, passing metres easily within seconds. I noticed that their eyes were unmoving from mine, daring me constantly to move. I just wasn't going to do that.

"Rhys!" England yelled. He stepped forwards just in time for the collision. I jarred back at the force and saw the two beasts literally explode into heat before me. I clenched my eyes shut and raised my arm to protect my face from the boiled wind.

I gagged and spluttered. As a British nation, all this heat was not welcome.

I wrenched an eye open and grinned. They were nowhere to be seen, except in the dots and blurs in my vision. The green light around England and me flickered but it held.

"Yay..." I groaned, clutching my panging head. Three guardians down. An unknown number to go. It was either two or one if what I read was accurate.

* * *

 **The beginning of the end! Wales, England, Romania, Norway, and Iceland vs. Black Robin!**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I would love if you review, follow, and favourite! :D**


	9. Finale : Part 2

**Dewch i fi (De-ookh ee vee) – Come to Me * Dewch (De-ookh) – Come * Llongyfarchiadau, Cymry (Shlong-ee-varkh-ee-adae Kumree) – Congratulations, Wales * Actifadwch (Aktivadookh) - Activate**

* * *

 **Wales**

It was an odd occurrence to see a fire-breathing lion. I knew not to let myself feel scared so after I accepted the facts of its knife-filled mouth and baking breath I could realise how silly it sounded out of context. I wondered how New Zealand would react to this story.

"Arthur," Norway called. His eyes trailed closer and closer to me as the lion prowled, having finished the fire show, "that's your national animal right? Is it possible to control him or something?"

England arched an eyebrow at the beast as if he was a judge criticising a poorly-made costume. "That is certainly _not_ a lion."

And to emphasise his point, the guardian spat flames into the air in the manner of snake's tongue darting out. England arched an eyebrow in response.

I sighed and called out to the lion-esque demon. " _Dewch i fi!_ " My voice carried easily in the absence of any other noise so the beast definitely heard me, yet it continued to stare me down, not daring any closer. My forehead creased in confusion. England groaned loudly and crossed his arms in annoyance.

"Oh for the love of…Will any of these just act predictably!?"

I took a step towards the edge of the magical boundary and towards the fire-breathing guardian. " _Dewch!_ " I pressed. Its fur glistened sickly and it finally began its prowl forwards. The air around its muzzle burned and wild tongues of flames lashed out repeatedly at the ground. It left a wake of torched blackened mud behind it. It did not come charging. I watched it suspiciously and found my caution was not unneeded.

It roared mid-step, a blatant attempt to catch me off guard and shock me, and the horrible sound was accompanied by a furnace of infernal fire. My eyes jolted wide but the spiralling swarm of heat parted like a fork in the road. It completely enveloped me and England, cooking the air around us so we were inhaling pain.

England gagged on a swear. "Aren't they just illusions? Bloody fairytales…"

I couldn't but grin. No matter how dangerous the circumstances, hearing my brother curse the word 'Fairytale' sounded so silly. My grin stretched with triumph and my eyes lit up.

"Arthur, I think this is the last test!"

"Well, thank…"

The cascading heat bolted up into the air and all eyes snapped up with it. The air cracked with bursting flames which all built and built until the horrific shape they created was large enough to be seen.

Iceland cried out past the wall of distorted air but the rest of our reactions were all mute terror. Norway sleepwalked between the fire and his brother but his stilted movements were the most extreme out of any of us. My eyes bulged and my mouth gaped at the sight. We had all seen enough horrors to make a regular person go mad yet this paralysed me in a way I never thought it could. It was ever changing, each form becoming worse and worse. It appeared to reach into the darkest corners of my mind and pull out the thing that could scare me the most. It was fear, it was disaster, it was evil incarnate.

England stumbled backwards, gasping desperately despite only receiving more searing breaths. I wrenched my eyes away in time to yell, "STAY IN THE CIRCLE!" and caught England in his daze.

His expression sobered but the terror did not leave it, whether it was the sight or the realisation of how close he was to being destroyed by it. England's eyes fell to the ground and he bit his lips. Heat lunged out in wisps in the manner of snakes, snapping at the light lines surrounding me and England. He muttered something and looked to me.

"I don't think my circles will hold, Rhys. Sorry."

I flinched, but then mentally scolded myself for doing so. I was being too hopeful. England spouted apologetics all the time but it was always out of politeness, whenever he bumped into someone or something, yet actually apologising was rare. I knew that.

So I looked away and gazed upwards at the guardian. It only wanted me and I would not fail so easily.

I spoke to it in Welsh. "Guardian!" I had to yell in order to make my words heard. "Open the gate or else! You have _no_ power over me!"

It spiralled downwards, closer to us. It was England who cried out this time. My feet were frozen to the ground in panic but I pretended it was bravery. I opened my mouth, and I felt the words come.

"By the power of the East, Athanaton!" A gust of wind buffered the fire. "Of the West, Orgon!" It recoiled as another blast of air shot at it from the other side. "Of the South, Boralim!" A darting zephyr split the fire in half. "Of the North, Glauron!" The four winds pressed the guardian. It stopped shapeshifting, unable to maintain any form except for the circle I was forcing into. I grinned but staggered momentarily, the dots in my vision building up again. The air was blotched and swam sickeningly from exhaustion. The oppressive stove-like air stole my breath and my voice was getting hoarser and hoarser under the temperatures I was _not_ used to. _One more line_ , I repeated to myself.

"I charge and command thee to manifest to gate to what I seek!" I shouted. It froze. The heat flashed away along with the fire and the demons. It was the opposite of walking outside into a sunny day. My head went fuzzy in the abrupt absence of light but when it cleared, there was nothing.

My expression lit up. My face moved seemingly with its own volition as a massive smile conquered the weariness. "YES!" I wanted to lie down there and be able to rest but unfortunately _he_ tugged me back into reality.

Black Robin looked just as triumphant as I did but the two of us were on opposite ends of the spectrum. He was sneering, drinking in his power to control countries to do his bidding. My grin shrank immediately and I met his eyes, clearing the disappointment from my face.

" _Llongyfarchiadau, Cymry_. How nice it was for you to act so...complainant," he said.

I stared him down and arched an eyebrow. "You should be congratulating yourself, Black Robin. That was very clever. Stealing magic and controlling my friends, I mean." My voice had lost its warmth. It was hollow instead.

" _Rhys_!" England hissed at me. I ignored him for the time being and waited.

I spied the cracks forming in the earth as per my command and I spread my arms invitingly. "Well done for winning. You get what you wish."

" _Wales_!"

My eyes flickered warningly at England but he remained confused. I sighed internally, reflecting on how poorly we read each other after more than a millennium. He didn't understand.

I watched the earth shift. Lines broke through the ground in an unnaturally straight manner, joining in a long rectangle pattern. The cut-off mud shuddered and lowered cleanly, washing away and descending until they had formed a steep stone staircases that tunnelled deep into darkness.

I knew it led to a cave. A cave full of treasure. Treasure I learnt people had died for. Treasure Black Robin was going to take.

Regardless of everything, I moved out of the old tale's way folded my arms expectantly. That was more than the trigger-tempered blonde could take.

"Hold on one bloody second! Rhys, what the hell has got into you!? I thought we'd resolved this! No-one can reverse the past so what on Earth is the point in this grudge!? You can stick to this passive streak of yours but I refuse to let this bastard do as he wishes after all of this!"

He turned on Black Robin and began to use the little Welsh he did know. "Damn you, you bastard! Sod off to hell and don't come back!" He surged forwards, his fists reared, and my arm snapped out.

"Arthur!"

England was intelligent but his pride and temper would always be his downfall. In his haste he forgot the weight still present around his neck. Norway had noticed it as well, to his dismay. The trio of countries watching on the other side wanted to act but for one of them there was no choice.

The attacking country came as a shock to the tale. The old man backed up briefly, an pointless gesture considering the blonde's speed, but a reminder flashed in Black Robin's expression as if it was actual magic.

" _Actifadwch_!" I heard him command. _Activate_.

England shuddered to a halt, the realisation slamming into him like an invisible wall all too late. Norway wrapped his hand around the amulet automatically, causing Iceland and Romania to stare, and then the two waxen pendants exploded again, causing the two of them to leap back.

Their eyes glowed. Their arms slumped. Their expressions lost all emotions as their minds were forced by the countries' own magic to give way to Black Robin's will. The two of them wheeled around like machinery, searching for their assigned targets. Iceland and Romania backed even further away from Norway. Iceland brandished the borrowed rod and Romania lit up his hands, remembering all too well what had happened last time.

"You. Cannot. Double-cross. _Me_!" the fake wizard snarled at England, who couldn't see him anyway.

I stepped between them, holding out my arms and meeting his coal-black, empty evil eyes. " _I_ wasn't going to. You have your treasure," I gestured to the stairs. "Let Lukas and Arthur go!"

"I shall let you all go, _after_ my prize has been sought. I have no intention in releasing my leverage over you. I understand that you know at least somewhat of who I am, so I believe you shall understand my actions here. You cannot double-cross me," he repeated. His sly gaze shifted off from me to the other Briton.

"However, I am not above punishment. I assume you are as well. Surely no-one would miss a foolish braggart such as him, _Cymry_."

The amulets had the fairy power to control the others, but I knew what their original purpose was. 'Canwyll'. Candle. They were the means of tying a soul to the wax. A way of tying any soul into mortality.

Romania and Iceland's eyes were dancing nervously, unsure whether to focus on me, Robin, or England. They didn't know what I was doing. Of course they didn't. If England, my brother, didn't understand then how could they?

"Black Robin, get your prize. Do as you wish. Just..." I forced my eyes away from the others and I braced. "Just don't do anything to me. I am your home. You can't." I straightened up and allowed myself to glare at him while I ignored the others' horrified gaping.

Black Robin brought up his hand threateningly. "Fine." England jerked, a mild display of power, and the man began walking forwards to his target. I let him.

Mountains of precious metals and jewels lay surrounded by magic under our feet. It would all disappear after this opportunity, until someone ever attempted this process again. Not that they could.

I heard Black Robin cackle in victory. I didn't need to rest my own eyes on the treasure though. I strolled so they were locked on the old man's cloak.

"Wales, what the hell?" Romania was prepared to fight, against me or whoever.

I paused to make sure and smiled with renewed warmth. "Make sure you keep the two of them out of the line of fire," I instructed the two quiet enough for Black Robin not to hear. For a moment there was confusion but then they caught on.

"Oh you son of a..." Romania started but did not finish. His smirk exposed incisors as Iceland reached out tentatively for his brother's amulet. The glow was nowhere near as strong as it had been that morning. I was right.

"Hey!" I called to Black Robin. He did not wrench his eyes off his prize, but his laughter stopped. "You've faded. You forgot one important thing." I looked back briefly and my smile broadened, already imagining the blonde's response. "I promised a long time ago that I would sort my brother myself. I have to fight a lot of people for that honour but I'm always true to my word. I am not a person to who betrayal comes easily.

"I faded a bit myself. However, there is one thing he wasn't powerful enough to take away from me."

I recalled the age old tale, the one I never forgot. The one I always remembered because it was always there. The ground shook at my words. It wasn't an earthquake. It was something even more powerful.

Black Robin's head whipped around furiously. "What is this! Do you dare risk their lives!?"

I shook my head and said simply, "This isn't a risk, Robin."

The wind whipped up, a perfectly cool one you would expect from Wales. Its roar was dulled by distance but the sound exploded into familiarity as it quickly closed the space between us.

It was unfortunate that Black Robin wasn't able to see it fully. I was pleased to see the others' reactions though.

It provoked fear but not the kind of demon. You were simply left in awe. Its body was thick and scaled in crimson, a tail extended downwards into a fork that lashed about in the wind, enormous wings beat the air and summoned torrential gusts, and the spikes running up its tail and back led to its horned, fanged head. Jade eyes pierced the scene like spears. An atmosphere of immense power was generated from its size alone, not including those aware of its other abilities.

"You are a danger!" I declared. "I will not let you continue!"

Dewi roared again. The earth shuddered and lurched underfoot. The red dragon was ready to defend against yet another enemy. Claws the size of claymores were bared at my command.

"GO!" I shouted and torrents of fire blazed towards the ground and towards the cave. I ran and seized England's arm, tugging him to safety. I grabbed the amulet and tore it off him, freeing him from the spell at once.

His eyes widened as he began aware but I didn't exactly give him time to talk about it. He noticed Dewi ahead and gasped.

"Bloody hell!" He looked back and understood.

The fire was gone now. The way had disappeared and all lines were scorched off the surface so they couldn't be used again.

Dewi twisted in midair and stopped circling the clearing in order to land. The ground jarred under his weight but no-one was unhappy to see him. I looked up and his mouth opened happily, the giant reptile's best go at a smile.

"Thanks, Dewi," I said. There was a great blow to the back of my head and I stumbled into the mud. I glanced back and saw Iceland, his expression pissed.

"Next time you feel like pretending to sell us off to a maniac, tell you have a freaking dragon!"

I rubbed the back of my head yet I couldn't help but think it was well deserved. "Sorry," I muttered. Iceland rolled his eyes and slammed the iron down on England's amulets, smashing the wax surface.

England extended his hand to me, his face oddly red. "D-Don't be." His voice was quieter too.

"Yeah. Just don't pretend to sell us off to a maniac, full stop," Romania said.

"Arthur. Rhys. Just," Norway put his hand to his face, "don't."

We both blushed magnificently. I bowed my head apologetically. "Sorry about that, guys. I needed to make sure he was out of harm's way before I tried anything." All the other countries joined me in staring pointedly at England.

For a moment he couldn't say anything, the words clogging up with embarrassment. Romania sniggered. "Now I see where Al gets it from."

"Sh-Shut up," England replied lamely. "I just couldn't _stand_ there and..."

"And trust me?" I prodded.

I didn't think his face could get any redder but I was proven wrong. "No...I only wanted to sort out this mess before anyone got hurt. That's all."

I raised an eyebrow at him, and sighed.

"Rhys, I-I...I thought you'd given up on me. After all you said and made me do at the World Cup I thought you had just given up on me like everyone el..." He slammed his mouth shut.

I approached him. "Arthur, you know I can't leave you. That's how it is. But the main thing is: I don't want to. You've done some pretty crud things in the past, no doubt about it. So that's why I'll never give up. You have a lot of time to make up and I'm going to help you along the way or else."

I was smiling impossibly wide at that point. Dewi standing behind me reminded me of what I was. England standing in front of me reminded me of what I wanted. I was Wales and I was a part of the United Kingdom.

That was something I would never forget.

* * *

 **The finale! But this is not the end! There will be an epilogue so make sure you stick around for that!**

 **Thank you all so much for reading and I would love it if you review! I love knowing what you all think about this fic! :D**


	10. Epilogue

**England**

"...and after Rhys had summoned Dewi, Emil and him released Lukas and I from mind-control with the poker. Personally, I think they all acted admirably. Without Vlad, Emil, and Rhys, it's likely that Lukas and I would still be on that mountain."

I took a sip from one of my china teacups and waited for the other countries' response. My head was panging and some of my hair was still singed but that's what I got for having agreed to host a meeting after being possessed. If I'd known what would happen a week in advance then I definitely would have given the responsibility to France or Ireland.

Germany coughed into his fist and looked up with a serious expression. "You were drunk, weren't you?"

I scoffed. "I was not! Not everything I say is a euphemism for drinking!"

"Admittedly it is usually, but I can vouch that it isn't this time," Wales added. "I mean, it wasn't midday when we left and it was non-stop since there. Neither of us had any time to start drinking."

"I wouldn't put it past you to have some on your person, Angleterre," France muttered to the agreement of nearly everyone.

"And I you." I glowered at as many people as I could catch, my arms crossed indignantly, but then Wales patted my shoulder.

"It's a reasonable assumption, Arthur. Even you have to admit that." I did, but that didn't mean I had to like that everyone assumed that of me.

Wales continued. "Anyway, so with that out of the way, can we start the meeting now?"

There was an unspoken groan among all the countries. I think we all would have preferred to keep putting off the actual meeting since it would ultimately end in a pointless argument. But I could understand his intent of saving me from the list of events that proved me to be an alcoholic in their eyes.

* * *

 **England**

Wales slumped into one of the comfy high-backed chair almost as soon as everything was over. The day was long and we were both exhausted on almost every level. I staggered over to the fire in an attempt to rekindle it. It wasn't the safest idea but I having a wood-burning fire always made the living room feel more comfortable.

I shoved a log into the hearth and piled on rolled-up newspaper and kindling over it. It was at that moment I became aware of two things: that we didn't have the poker any more, and that Wales' car was still parked in some field near a motorway. Iceland, Romania, and Norway were gone, they'd left along with the others, so the two items would be lost for a while.

Anyway, I did the best I could with what I had and went to sit down opposite Wales. He wasn't a notorious napper like his friend, New Zealand, was but the Welshman was curled up and snoring mutely. He wasn't going to wake up any time soon.

A smile came to my face, making me feel oddly like an older brother instead of the truth. North was my only little brother in that sense but everything between Wales and me was so contradictory and confusing.

 _But I want to let you know: I had to find out about this from a library book._

The smile faded a bit. This was the life I'd been forced to live for a very long time. A life of regret and previous actions being hurled back at me with the intent to hurt. For centuries, power had been my only drive. I, like so many others, had created an empire, expect mine had expanded to point of no other before. I hadn't been kind and despite my present efforts I knew I wasn't going to banish that perception any time soon, even at home.

I flopped down in the chair opposite my brother and awaited sleep, only to find it had gone on a run. My eyes didn't close and my exhaustion had abandoned me without warning. I gazed around until I ended up staring at the bookshelves. They were full of Anglo-Welsh literature even if there was a clear majority.

I furrowed my eyebrows and stood. "Rhys?" I inquired softly. He didn't make indication that he could hear me so he wouldn't be waking up any time soon. I glanced out of the window and saw the setting sun, given away by the deep red sky but still high enough in the sky to avoid the mountain silhouettes.

I had enough time.

* * *

 **Wales**

My eyes fluttered open to the sound of movement which had only just then registered in my sleepy mind. The light initially fooled me into thinking it was morning but it was only the fire. The sky outside was dark and jewelled, indicative of night.

My left foot brushed the carpet but my right knee was pressed up against my stomach and the armrest. Pins and needles attacked one of the arms and the other was warm thanks to the lit fireplace.

I shook the bleariness from my vision and pushed myself upright. Everything was blurred but clearing so I managed to catch England in the act.

"Arthur..?" I half-mumbled, half-yawned.

He halted and turned his head to meet my line of sight. He smiled awkwardly. "Sleep well?" the blonde wondered.

I nodded slowly and stretched like a cat. "Well enough. You?"

England slotted something back into the bookshelf. "I never went to sleep. It's too early, isn't it? I've been sorting out a few things: shopping, fetching some things, etcetera."

"'Fetching some things'? Wait, how long was I sleeping?"

"A few hours. You don't need to worry, it's not tomorrow or anything. I was fetching _your_ car." England fished around in his trouser pocket and tossed the keys over to me with a high jangling.

They fell into my lap but I craned my head to glimpse at the bookshelf England had moved to hide from view. "What are you doing? I thought they were already in order."

He hummed distractedly. "Uh huh. Er, I mean they were. I'm organising the new ones."

"New ones? Where on Earth did you go in the journey to get my car?"

"There's no need to sound so suspicious. I'm allowed to buy books, Rhys. I happened to notice the shelves were a little bare so I took the initiative to purchase some more. You know how much I hate wastes of space."

And at that, England tried his hardest to jam a book into a lines of others while hiding the struggle.

I straightened up in the chair and raised a thick eyebrow at him. "Arthur, the truth. Now."

"Fine. I...I bought that book you told me about. I phoned Vlad and he told me which one it was so I decided to make the trip while you were asleep." He pulled it back out and presented it to me. I reached out and grabbed the cover. It was the one I'd found in the library. The one with the stories of the Lady of the Lake, John Gethin and the Candle, and Black Robin. It was full of familiar stories but also of stories I had forgotten.

When I looked up, I saw that my brother appeared guilty. I felt a pang of guilt as well. He probably remembered my words from earlier. I'd been angry, even though I shouldn't have been. It was in the past and no matter what he did, England was powerless to change that.

England smiled at me. "It saved our lives today. I thought we'd do the proper thing and honour it."

I chuckled. "Thanks, Arthur."

He strolled across the room and took the chair opposite me. He leant back and felt around in the air next to him, reaching for the glass he'd put aside for the meet-up this morning.

"The kitchen's not too far. I can go get some beer if you want," I offered but the Englishman put up his hands, waving the suggestion off.

"Never mind. It doesn't matter anyway, I just thought...It doesn't matter. Back on topic, I was wondering whether we could continue our meeting; it was interrupted after all. I know Vladimir and Lukas are gone but wouldn't it be interesting to explore some of these?"

He tapped the blue book cover. "After today especially, I think we ought to reread them, together."

I stared at him uncomprehendingly for a moment, but my blank expression quickly sparked cheerfully. "I should mind control you every day. It makes you a nicer person."

"Don't ruin this, Rhys!"

"Hello, pot." I flipped open the book and scanned the pages. "Do you want to start with the red dragon?"

He shrugged. "Might as well. If anything here's relevant I guess it's that."

The book was written in Welsh so I had to translate it for my brother. Along the way I tried to teach him a few of the random phrases I encountered, hoping to increase his vocabulary beyond insults from the old days.

We passed the Tylwyth Teg and more creatures. England didn't have a much of a problem with his tales since he'd gained their trust after a time. As we read, I recognised the fact I would be doing quite a bit of work in the future but I felt better knowing that I would be able to know what I was dealing with.

* * *

 **Thank you everyone for reading and I hope you enjoyed 'A Dangerous Thing to Forget'!**

 **It has been 43 days (6 weeks and 1 day), 10 chapters, 46 pages, and 21,660 words! Thank you all so much for supporting me through all of this!**

 **To all those who reviewed this story and gave me feedback, thank you to/diolch yn fawr i:**

 **A Broken Imagi-NATION, KathAmbrosius67, ArtistictheRam, and Arya Scarlett 14!**

 **To all those who favourited this story and showed me you liked my work, thank you to/diolch yn fawr i:**

 **A Broken Imagi-NATION, Arya Scarlett 14, KathAmbrosius67, NinjaGirl9797, and SunsetRedRobots!**

 **To all those who followed this story and let me know you wanted me to continue, thank you to/diolch yn fawr i:**

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 **I hope you all have lovely days, including all those I cannot name! :D**

 **Goodbye! Pob hwyl!**


	11. Response

Hello :D

This is just because I can't reply to your review so I'm going to write it out here for **random welsh dud** and for anyone else who might have been wondering this.

There are probably lots of mistakes with the Welsh (and English) in this story. Spelling mistakes are spelling mistakes and, admittedly, I may not catch them all.

I did not use google translate. I used to look up any words I didn't know because I am not fluent. But I have an A in AS Level Welsh and I am from Wales (the south east).

Rydw i'n gallu deall chi. Mae'n ddrwg gyda fi ond diolch yn fawr am ddarllen :D


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